Watch Famous Ponies Swim in Chincoteague Island Tradition | National Geographic
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 20 авг 2024
- These horses aren't taking a dip in the water just to cool off in the sweltering Virginia summer. They're the famous Chincoteague ponies of Assateague Island, and they're herded across the channel to Chincoteague Island every July by "saltwater cowboys." Most of the foals are auctioned off the next day to raise money for the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company, which owns and manages the herd under a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. A few foals designated as "buybacks" are donated to the fire company and returned to Assateague Island to replenish the herd and live in the wild for another year. The auction also helps maintain the feral horse population at around 150 on the Virginia side of Assateague Island.
➡ Subscribe: bit.ly/NatGeoSu...
About National Geographic:
National Geographic is the world's premium destination for science, exploration, and adventure. Through their world-class scientists, photographers, journalists, and filmmakers, Nat Geo gets you closer to the stories that matter and past the edge of what's possible.
Get More National Geographic:
Official Site: bit.ly/NatGeoOf...
Facebook: bit.ly/FBNatGeo
Twitter: bit.ly/NatGeoTw...
Instagram: bit.ly/NatGeoInsta
Click to read more about the Chincoteague ponies of Assateague Island.
news.nationalge...
Learn more about horses: animals.nationa...
VIDEOGRAPHER & PRODUCER: Jed Winer
EDITOR: Nick Lunn
ADDITIONAL FOOTAGE: Kristin Hugo
SPECIAL THANKS: Alex Tucker & Lester Dennis
Watch Famous Ponies Swim in Chincoteague Island Tradition | National Geographic
• Watch Famous Ponies Sw...
National Geographic
/ natgeo
I went to Chincoteague a few years ago, and went on a boat tour to see the wild ponies. They are incredibly beautiful, and on some areas on Assateague Island they will even come onto the beach if they're aren't many people that day. They're so amazing to see.
its cool until the horses eat your food 😂 trust me I've experienced it there many times
+Maddie Zaps they kept having fights outside my tent, stealing our food, and poking the tent with their noses. they were everywhere.
You guys are talking about the Maryland side, not the Virginia side. In Maryland they do steal food but that is why coolers are supposed to be strapped closed.
+loreebeebee I don't think you understand. they try to open everything. they rummage through everything looking for food. they are the same ponies on both sides of the state line...
Yep I live here you probably went on Daisey’s island cruises that’s my dads and pop pops business
Love the book Misty of Chincoteague grew up reading this and other books by the author Marguerite Henry
BRO ME TOO
As a western equestrian this would be a dream to participate in. Ugh I love Chincoteague. I have to go back.
Read the books here in UK age ten, still pony mad now age 53!! Lovely to see the real life swim...
This island has so much to offer. Pony's and NASA launches. Incredible.
I am glad to see the don't make the old and young swim, but I do hope they aren't auctioning off these horses too young, horses learn manners from their mom and I know from so many bad situations a foal taken too young can have problems and also how heart breaking for the mom if they are looking for them and can't find them out of instinct.
We got to Chincoteague for the 4th of July week. It is a wonderful place to vacation with the family anytime of the year. It's a bikable island, a welcoming community- it's a beautiful place to visit and I'd love to live there.
in Ocean City you can take a tour boat ride over to the assateague and see them roaming around, its one of the best things to do with your kids in OC. They ask you dont disturb the ponies but theres lots of wildlife there you can get close to, even catch.
just drive onto the island... you don't need an expensive boat ride...
U animal why would you catch one of them dirty piece of scum. How would you like to be catched and put into a trailer??
@@magali1120 ummm he said “other wildlife” he wants talking about the horses - gee!
Please don't catch wildlife . Its not nice
We all read a book about this 45 years ago. That's why so many people my age (56) know this.
Kids haven't stopped reading those books since. They're still popular. That's why everyone who's ever loved horses knows about this.
What book would that be?
I read this book when I was 6, read it every year, I’m 13 now
@@rugvedkulkarni1593 The book I read as a kid (I was around 9 or 10 at the time during the 70s) was titled "Sea Star" by Marguerite Henry.
@@rugvedkulkarni1593 Misty of Chincoteague is a really famous one, I believe it’s also a movie
Misty of Chincoteague brought me here. How amazing to see that this is still done.
i was blessed to meet Misty and see the swim and was offered a pony when I was 7 ,I have to return ,it is on my birthday yearly
Maureen Mcbride So cool! What an awesome experience for you!
Wow, lucky you! I had (and still have and cherish) a stuffed plush version of Misty!
Trust me she was dirty in a run down stall that had manure up to her knees i was a little 7 year old child it was 1969 i believe there were huge wooden signs on side of highway tourist trapping people to see amd pat amd have a snapshop with her .evem at 6 years old i knew.. i patted her apologized to her told her if she were mine id set her free on assateague again i left. It was ine of 1st memorys and it still gives me a tummy ache to this day
@@banditthegermanshepherd6406 1st memory amd far from awesome she was filthy in a dirty stall up to knees in manure it was broken down she looked so utterly hopeless even as a child. I knew this was so so wrong
You met misty? What year
it's cool to see your hometown on national geographic.
I got a Chincoteague pony this year, (parents are little duckie & Don Leonard Stud ll)
Who are those horses?
There is a book about them! It’s a national wildlife reserve with a herd of feral horses. Once tamed, released decades ago. The park staff round them up to auction a few off of buyers for population control and finances for the park. It’s a specific breed of horse due to being isolated on the island for so long.
Do you guys rip the horses from their families and call it charity?
This is so cool! I live on Chincoteague, and I watch the ponyswim every single year!
PixelPerfect Wow, that is so cool! You are very lucky, I am so envious! 😊
PixelPerfect lucky i go for like a week every year
As an eye witness, can you shed some light on whether they actually swim or are they just walking on the channel floor?
Do you Lis a wip full wh un
@@JStubblefield79391They can actually swim. Horses are quite good at swimming for non aquatic animals
So beautiful ponyes! ❤️😍
It is really really beautiful to see the ponies swimming, I understand that it is their nature but I saw other clips where the cowboys “force” the ponies with a whip to get into the water, that was very sad for me to see that but well ...It is a tradition
Agreed
using the word “tradition” to justify inhumane acts is becoming unbearable.
@@4evrmind Tbh i agree. Its pretty easy for humans to dominate when there isnt any true direct competitor
They weren’t whipping the horses. You smack the ground to create the cracking sound. They need to have all of the horses together to prevent breakage in the herd and to make sure everyone is safe.
@@4evrmind it’s not tradition, it’s horsemanship. they were absolutely not whipping the horses, rather just cracking the whip against the ground. read my comment above this one :)
How nice!
I bin going there since I was 2
Wow this is so cool ,I would love to visit there ❤️❤️
Outstanding event, the Horses are awesome....
I been doing the swim since 2011. love doin it
Hi i live on Chincoteague and my dad has a website for Chincoteague and this is his video🤗 I’m not lying
dude i’ve been to chincogeague many times and it’s such a great place to go, no pizza place will ever beat famous pizza either
To much Talk.
To little swim
Oh come on guys that was INTERESTING
Only a limited number of ponies can live on the island. It’s not very big.
ok but why did my math teacher have us watch this? and how did she find it??
🤣🤣🤣🤣
So cool!
The one thing I just wanna know? Why don’t u auction the colts and fillies when they grow into mares and stallions? Because then they are stronger and faster instead of small colts and fillies? I’m just asking :P
Everycrowd 31 I’m not a horse expert, so I don’t know for sure, but when my family and I visited for Pony Penning, they said the foals were easier to train than the adults. Not that the adults couldn’t be trained, just that the foals-the weaned foals-were easier.
The reason they don’t is because there would probably be overpopulation issues by the time they all grow
I come from the Eastern Shore and have been here a few times, but I've never ONCE seen one of these horses.
What?? I thought this was a natural thing
saw this every year when I was a kid. I miss it. I want to take my kids someday
I wish they were still wild. I live in northern Virginia. But I went there but I didn't see any wild ones.
I've gone to Chincoteague multiples times. They've not near the houses & mainland, they're farther out by assateague Island & towards water. You can take boat tours & go kayaking to be able to see them better. They usually stay in the woods & grasslands away from people.
+Holly Bug *they're
the car ruined the world. bring back just horses 😁😁😁
Actually they switched to cars back in the early 1900s because horses were polluting the cities so much with there shit but now cars have polluted everything
I'd rather be polluted by horse poo than car fumes..
Be glad for cars the horses were not well taken care of.
Caroline
no you wouldn't you couldn't walk they had horse shit piled up on the sidewalks 4 feet high
Caroline no If I ever rode a horse, girl I would fall lol
Miss you granddad :(
When I was a boy 50 years ago we would go every July to see the swim and eat fried oyster sandwiches. I have never had better fried oysters. since.
This is similar to the Colorado Rodeo. Great video.
Last year I went to it because my sister wanted to go
Next year I'll be going to Chincoteague island with my grandad!
LPSMcKenna I was there last summer with my family and we had an absolute blast! I’m sure you and your grandpa will have loads of fun!
i just finished it
I live there
my god i have homework on this
So, what's the purpose of allowing those horses and ponies swim through the river?? What's the purpose of it? Why?
Good question. It’s actually not a river, but a channel between two islands. Taking all of the horses over by boat would be much more difficult and time consuming. The spectacle also attracts a lot of attention and is an event the town has done for almost 100 years.
It’s to control the population of how many ponies live on the island at a time so they don’t spill over onto private properties and farmland. They auction off some of the ponies to give them more of an opportunity in life other than being slaughtered. This is such a better way of doing roundups than using helicopters and Judas horses
How amazing, thanks for sharing!
Why do they MAKE them swim? Seems cruel. Do any ever perish like the foals? I don't understand why they force them in. Sad to me.
Me too! After visiting the island and seeing them free this simply appears as money scheme and somewhat animal cruelty.... it is obvious when there ,that’s their natural habitat and they enjoy roaming
Compare that how to how the US does it this is actually way more humane and it’s not a long swim. In the US, we drive them over rough terrain with helicopters while these guys are rounded up with horses and are under less stress
I wish they'd leave them alone and not sell them.
they get over populated and have to fight for resources
They are invasive species and need to be managed
+Trevor Lawrence oh I see
They are limited to
150 adult ponies on the va side and the auction is a fundraiser for the fire department.
humans are the invasive species. horses would do fine without their "help" and profiteering off them.
i was there but i was in the back because there was so many people but i still got to see the horses
Where is this at?
Descendientes de caballos Españoles
I DIDNT KNOW HORSES COULD SWIM?!?
yep they can! I've ridden one while it was swimming before
@@irenicrose whoa must've been a cool experience
@@edward.l.h7450 they're not tho?
@@edward.l.h7450 the closest relatives to hippos are pigs, dolphins, and whales. hippos and horses aren't related at all you can try looking it up
@@edward.l.h7450 the only related thing about them is that "hippopotamus" means "river horse" in greek
Are they really wild horses if humans are interfering with them so much? I'm surprised there arent any laws on these wild animals?
No horse is a true “wild” horse by today’s standards. Horses are invasive species and by auctioning them off, they’re protecting the land and allowing for stabilization of herd numbers.
and homework on assateague island
Omg seahorses !!
Why though? I’m so confused. Not trying to be rude.
A VIDEO NEAR WHERE I LIVE OMG
At least wait until the foals are weaned!!!!!
T Mukhtar they said that they get the foals and mother’s and old ones and trailer them across.
@@gweegygweegy6126 look at the video
T Mukhtar what part of the video? Will you put a time stamp?
Those are wild horses...700 yrs old.......no right to send them to horse slaughter autions for the kill pen......
Can I use this video for an edit if I only use like 30 or less seconds
do they have a right to sell them?
Yes, they do. This prevents overpopulation because horses are invasive species. It’s similar to the Bureau of Land Management rounded up feral horses for auction in other states. Horses are not native to North America and can cause habitat loss, so the department on the island is allowed to sell
я русская я не понимаю
Arleen Zito this is for you
I think that it's a necessary take a shower, tiroalblanco!
You mentioned you sell those ponies. Before you sell them do you investigate and run background check on each individual? Most evil men wants to kill horses and ponies for meat. They slaughter them. After watching a documentary on the subject it broke my heart into pieces and I cried so much that I couldn't bare to watch anymore of it. It was on tv 15 years ago. ☹️ The way they would do it is shoot them with darts to make them sleep and then the evil men would gather up all the sleeping horses and ponies and strung them upside down and then slaughter then. 🥺😳😭💔💔 I hope y'all are not like that. ☹️💔💔
These horses go for so much money. No one would pay that much for a meat horse.
Yeehaw! TRUMP 2024 Get Er Done!
end animal exploitation
hope the don't bring them to slaughter houses
They don't kill them
I hope not. I know some places they would ship them to places for slaughter. So that's great to hear
These foals are quite expensive, they are definitely not slaughter foals.
I know but some people don't care about that, they hunt and kill lions Tigers etc they don't care about the values really. Bug it is good to know these beautiful animals are safe
+AdaraSoFly in
They’re drowning the giraffes!!! Over on the roadside of Route 66 there’s a kiddie pool where a giraffe is drowning!
We may need gas $ to get it out in the form of Hologram Jurassic Park cards. 👻
Prob. Sell them for horse meat...yeah, we use trailers to take the weak ones across...yeah sure
They don’t sell these horses for meat. They’re auctioned off mostly for private farm use or school ponies. These horses go for a large amount of money, no one who buys a horse for slaughter would pay thousands of dollars for one horse.
kkk
Took your black baby away?
Terrible
well this is misleading....i thought they were actually real ponies...
Ponies are young Horses ...
No, that is incorrect. Pony refers to size not age.
They are real ponies.
Mudbone gaming they ARE ponies
@@Judexxxxxjjjjj No, young horses are called foals, same for baby ponies. Ponies are like horses, but smaller
vegans would react in this video.
This has nothing to due with being vegan, they're not eating the horses.
Horse meat is a staple in some states
+john son of Morris It's not widely popular. But these specific wild Ponies aren't consumed. They're auctioned off & returned to the wild in order to control the population. They're mainly used as riding horses, one of the most known examples of this is Misty of Assateague(a book based on the true story of a Assateague pony)
+Holly Bug if they are not ethically treating animals, that's when vegan step in. When someone slits a cow's throat after raping her and stealing away her babies, no, we will not contribute to that by buying milk or steaks.
These guys are not good guys
I’m not doubting you, but why do you say this? Thank you for your answer
@@dianerathgeber9361 They are not good guys, they are GREAT guys. That is what he meant to say.
I don't like that thy are doing this to wild horses!!!
The LalaGamer They have to be managed so they don't overpopulate and damage the island ecosystem. The horses get put up for adoption.
You’d rather they be allowed to overpopulate and die of horrible disease and starvation???? Because that’d be the alternative.
The LalaGamer they don’t want more horses then the island can handle