Want to See Wild Horses in the Eastern United States? These Places are the Best

Nearly everyone has heard of the Chincoteague Ponies, thanks to the popular book, Misty of Chincoteague. The ponies live on the nearby island of Assateague, a barrier island that straddles Maryland and Virginia. Legends say that the ponies ashore from a Spanish shipwreck in the 17th century, but there’s no proof this happened. They were likely released from from early settlers in the 17th century. 

The ponies wander freely through the beach, marshes and open meadows. Although visitors are cautioned against approaching, the ponies have no real fear of people and are frequently spotted in campsites.

Another seaside pony destination is the pristine beaches and windswept dunes of Corolla, North Carolina. These horses are believed to be descendants of Spanish mustangs brought to the Outer Banks centuries ago, brought to land by early settlers, or settling here after shipwrecks. Off shore, there are ever changing sand bars which have caused many shipwrecks over the years, so it is plausible, but there’s no definitive proof of this. 

The horses have adapted to the climate, but face challenges from habitat loss, human encroachment and natural disasters so the Corolla Wild Horse Fund was established in 1981 to protect the horses and their habitat. 

Shackleford Banks, located on a barrier island within Cape Lookout National Seashore, is home to a herd of wild horses. They’ve lived there for centuries, and it’s believed they were brought by early settlers and were either set loose, escaped, or swan to shore from shipwrecks, although it’s impossible to know exactly what happened. The horses have been DNA tested, and were found to be Colonial Spanish horses, originating in Spain and Portugal. 

Despite being only between 11 and 13 hands high, they are considered horses. They, like other horses along the North Carolina shoreline, are now considered to be “Banker Horses,” or “Banker Ponies.”

Sometimes the horses are freeze branded to distinguish them, but not all the time. Records are kept on the horses, but otherwise, the horses are almost completely left to their own devices. 

If mountain ponies are more to your liking, Grayson Highlands State Park might be ideal for you. In the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, lives a herd of wild ponies, roaming freely through an already enchanting landscape.

The history of Grayson Highlands’ wild ponies dates back to the 1970s when a group of Assateague Island ponies was introduced to the park to help control the growth of vegetation. These ponies, descendants of the iconic Chincoteague ponies, quickly adapted to their new environment, thriving in the rugged terrain and becoming an integral part of the park’s ecosystem.

Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, located in Florida’s Alachua County, is a haven for wildlife enthusiasts and nature lovers alike. Renowned for its vast prairies, marshes, and diverse ecosystems, the park is home to a herd of wild horses.

Like many of the other horses on this list, these horses are descendants of the horses of the Spanish colonial settlers.

This park is a huge reserve for all sorts of native animals. in 1975, 10 bison were re-introduced to the park, in an effort to restore Florida’s natural resources to pre-colonized conditions. Today there is a healthy population of bison for visitors to see (from a distance!)

Technically, they aren’t wild horses. But much like man of the other herds on this list, they are horses that were set free by people in the area, it just happened much more recently.

It actually started with coal mining. Coal is a huge industry in eastern Kentucky. Due to regulations in the last 50 years, coal mines have been required to “reclaim” land that had been mined, which resulted in the creation of large parcels of flat land and rolling hills. Before, there was very little pasture land in this region, so locals begin using the areas for their horses and cattle. They were literally set free on the land during the spring, and reclaimed in the fall. 

When economic troubles started in 2008, many more horses were released, including stallions. The population exploded. In 2014, volunteers begin documenting the horses, and so far have identified 500 horses over 9 countries.