On September 20 and 21 the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company held its annual fall roundup at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Auction on Assateague Island in Virginia. The last batch of fall pickup foals from the Pony Penning auction were picked up by their buyers to be transported home.
The fire company who owns these feral ponies has a strong healthcare protocol in place. Pony Roundups are held three times a year with a complete pony health check at each. The Pony Penning roundup in late July is well known, but the herds get their annual shots at spring roundup and are wormed at spring and fall roundup.
This year, the south herd was rounded up on the evening of September 20 and the north herd was brought in on September 21. According to the fire company’s publicity officer and saltwater cowboy Hunter Leonard, about 140 adult ponies were brought in plus the summer buyback foals and four late born foals. He explained why the roundup was held a few weeks earlier than usual.
“In addition to being wormed, the new buybacks had to get their next swamp cancer shot,” Hunter shared. Foals get swamp cancer [pythiosis] shots at Pony Penning in July, then the end of August and again at the end of September, so we moved Fall Roundup to get that last shot in for new foals.”
One thing was top of mind for avid pony followers attending Saturday’s North Roundup. Would the stallion, CLG ToMorrow’s Tidewater Twist be brought in? You see, Twist has a penchant for avoiding cowboys when he is north.
Three bands of ponies usually reside in the south compartment, with the bulk of the ponies being in the island’s north compartment. For a time, Twist was kept in the southern compartment to make him easier to capture. This year, he was moved north after Pony Penning to make room for the fall pickup foals and their dams, which are kept south after the Pony Penning so they can be easily observed and cared for.
“The last time he was north, we went out eight times to try to get him, before we finally got him and his band,” Hunter said with a smile. “He picks the most remote spots to graze, and he knows where to go to avoid us. Legacy (his sire) was like that for a while, too. They know where to hide.”
True to form, Twist and his band of 10 once again avoided capture.
“I’d been watching him all week as I took boat tours out,” Leonard recalled. “I’d seen him the whole week, so I was optimistic, but he tends to stay in a difficult spot for the cowboys to get into - a peninsula near the end of the north side. The woods there are really dense and hard to get through.”
Avid Chincoteague Pony followers were not surprised when Twist did not come in. But they were pleasantly surprised to see the mare’s Suede and Moon on the carnival grounds. These two mares had gone to Pennsylvania for treatment at Stoney Creek Chincoteagues pony farm after Pony Penning.
Farm owner, Tipson Myers, shared that Suede had received an eye injury while in the corral at Pony Penning.
“She had a medical evaluation on Tuesday before the swim and was not injured at that time. It was discovered on Wednesday morning before the swim, so it had to have happened in the pens overnight,” Tipson said. “Veterinarian, George Marble started treatment at Pony Penning and we agreed to continue treatment.”
Tipson and her veterinarian, Allison Dotzel frequently pitch in to help with healthcare for the Chincoteague Pony herds.
“Initially, I was treating it with meds through a catheter inserted through the eyelid, so the meds could wash over the eye,” Allison said. “She tolerated that for a while, but then it got to a point where she was not letting us treat it without a fight. I was also monitoring the eye during treatment, and it was looking worse. She either had glaucoma or uveitis. The eye was no longer visual and was swelling so I knew there was pressure in the globe. That is so uncomfortable. We consulted with the ophthalmologist at Cornell, and veterinarian George Marble as well as Hunter and Billy Reed. At that point, we knew the best option was to remove the eye. This was our best chance at making sure she was comfortable again.”
After surgery and a few weeks with stitches, Suede was back to herself again. Over the months, she’d already adapted to not having vision in that eye.
“They learn to turn their head, and they learn other ways to sense what is on the other side,” Allison said. “I think she is good now and she will do just fine. They have had one-eyed ponies on the refuge in the past.”
Tipson agreed.
“Suede is a strong and true survivor,” she said of the beautiful palomino mare. “She was previously treated for swamp cancer, which shows she is tough. That’s the thing you have to appreciate about these ponies. They live through so much. They’re beyond tough.”
The second mare returned at Fall Roundup was a Misty descendent named Winter Moon. The bay pinto was treated for dermatitis.
“We don’t see dermatitis that often and hers wasn’t awful, but she had also lost some weight,” Hunter shared. “Since she had a foal with her, we had Tipson take both just to be sure. That extra care can make a difference.”
Tipson said Moon was easy to treat because she was born domestic, then later donated to the island.
“We used ointment and spray on her until we cleared it up,” she said. “We are appreciative that the saltwater cowboys allow us to help. We want to make a difference wherever we can.”
As bands of ponies streamed into the pens, a huge fall roundup crowd gathered around the fence to watch.
“We had an awful big crowd,” Hunter said. “I came trotting into the pens [on horseback] behind [the mare] Grandma’s Dream and I thought… What in the world! What a crowd!”
Most observers zeroed in on the foals. Four more have been born since Pony Penning. The mare Gracey has a solid black filly by either Beach Boy, Legacy, Riptide or Prince. Secret Feather has a bay colt by Riptide with white socks, a big blaze, with one blue eye. The mare known as ET has a chestnut pinto filly with two blue eyes by Maverick, and Dove has a chestnut pinto filly with wide blaze by Riptide.
Those interested in bidding on one of these four foals may do so in an online auction at Sporthorseauctions.com, with bidding to run from November 18 to 20.