ASSATEAGUE The new foal
birthed on Assateague in December
is thriving during her first month of
existence on the barrier island,
despite the brutal cold temperatures
last week and the constant winter
struggle for food, according to Assa-
teague Island National Seashore of-
ficials.
The foal, known for now only by
its alpha-numeric name N2BHS-AL,
will turn one month old on Saturday,
and despite a rather harsh winter
welcome into life on Assateague,
the young horse appears to be thriv-
ing thus far, despite some concerns
raised in the community about her
health and the health of her dam,
known as N2BHS-A, or "Gokey Go
Bones."
Assateague Island National Sea-
shore Science Communicator Kelly
Taylor said this week the foal is
thriving, despite the sub-zero tem-
peratures for much of last week and
what on the surface appears to be
scarce grazing opportunities.
"She is doing great," she said.
"She's doing everything a one-
month old foal can be doing and
should be doing. She looks great
and has a good, fluffy winter coat.
The dam is also in great shape."
Taylor said the foal is nursing
with her mother, who from recent
pictures appears rather gaunt, but
that is not unusual considering what
she has been through recently with
birthing a foal and the typical tribula-
tions of a winter on the barrier is-
land, according to Taylor.
"Mom is in great shape consider-
ing she just had a baby," said
Taylor. "Her coat looks good and
she is healthy and doing well. She
has to graze a lot because she is
feeding the foal, and she has to
work twice as hard to get the nour-
ishment she needs because the
food source is naturally not quite as
abundant this time of year, but there
is no reason to expect the foal and
the dam are not healthy and thriv-
ing."It's important to note that the
famed herd of horses on Assa-
teague are wild animals and are left
largely to survive on their own. Na-
tional Parks Service officials do
monitor their whereabouts and their
overall health to some degree, but
do not feed them or provide shelter
or medical care.
Nonetheless, the herd is a hearty
bunch and has adjusted over the
generations to life on the windswept
island. Thus far, the foal and the
dam and the rest of the band are
adjusting well to the new addition,
Taylor maintained.
"We've been commenting lately
on just how great a mother she is
being," said Taylor. "She is nursing
and is very protective of the foal and
never lets her stray too far from her
sight. The rest of the band appears
to be adjusting well also."
In the 1970s, the National Park
Service began naming new foals in
the Assateague herd with an alpha-
numeric code to help track the line-
age of the wild horses and identify
to which sub-herd they belong and
the areas they frequent on the
island. The new foal was birthed by
NSBHS-A, or Gokey Go Bones, and
although Gokey was often seen with
NSBHSX, or Jester, when she be-
came pregnant, the foal's coloring
suggests the sire is likely N9BM-E,
or Yankee.
The new foal brings the size of
the herd to 101, which is just about
at the target range of 80 to 100.
With just two foals birthed this year,
the number came in lower than the
statistical average. While three to
five foals are birthed in a typical
year, an in-kind number drop off due
to old age, illness or other natural or
man-made factors.
The mortality rate is around 3 to
5 percent, meaning three to five out
of 100 are lost each year to attrition,
which coincides with the three to
five new foals birthed in a typical
year.In the interest of managing the
size of the herd, which, if left un-
checked would overtake the barrier
island and gobble up the very re-
sources the wild ponies need to sur-
vive, the National Park Service sev-
eral years ago began a contracep-
tive program for the mares in the
herd. The mares are injected with a
non-invasive contraceptive to pre-
vent multiple births in an effort to
maintain and ultimately shrink the
size of the herd to its manageable
threshold.
In the interest of maintaining the
gene pool of the famous wild po-
nies, believed to be descendants of
domesticated horses placed on the
island 300 years ago, each mare is
allowed to birth one foal before be-
ing put on the contraceptive pro-
gram.
Officials Report New Foal Thriving
Although the mare appears ema-
ciated in this picture, Assateague Is-
land National Seashore officials re-
ported this week the dam and its foal
both appear to be healthy.
Photo by Lynne Lockhart
Page 12
January 17, 2014
The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch
By SHAWN J. SOPER
NEWS EDITOR
Mare's Appearance Raises Concerns
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