I don’t know if he was playing favorites or not, but this female pinto was never really far from the herds stallion this one afternoon. He was OK with that too.
There were also a few ponies that stayed well in the background. I’m guessing they were young males. The boss was not one they wanted to anger.
Chincoteague ponies.
So there are still other horse breeds – but can she actually survive out there, with that brackish water?
A few times they said introduced breeds close enough to the original ponies to allow breeding. They needed to be sure inbreeding didn’t kill the species. There were offspring, but any introduced pony/horse did not survive here. The Chincoteague species has a strong stomach lining, can eat the marsh grass, and withstand the sale water they get while eating. However, they still need fresh water, which is out here in various waterholes.
BTW, the stomachs of these are usually swollen since they drink much more fresh water than a typical horse.