Foal dies on Chincoteague

By Linda Cicoira

A young foal from the famous Assateague herd of wild ponies died Saturday after straying from its mother, the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company reported late Saturday.

Around 1 p.m., seaside cowboys were alerted that a foal had been trampled in the north herd. When they arrived, “they found foal #71 a newborn, deceased … It had wandered to another nearby band, away from its mother, Mimi, who was a first-time mom.”

Hidalgo, who is Mimi’s stallion, for reasons unbeknownst to us, went into the other stallion’s group and aggressively tried to move the foal, and in the process caused massive head trauma.”

“Cowboys tried to have the mother approach or at least see the deceased foal, but as in many cases with new dams, they dissociate,” a post on the department’s Facebook page stated.

“There is no behavioral problem with Hidalgo. “These babies are fragile, and this foal, at under a day old and slightly premature, had already been left by its mother, for which we likely would have had to intervene anyhow. While not a normal circumstance, stuff like this inevitably happens in the wild … one misstep, one wrong turn, or hours without mom for a foal may be a life-threatening situation. This was just a freak accident. Wild horses can be dangerous, especially to each other, but also to people.”

“This wasn’t the first foal who was killed accidentally, and in reality, it will not be the last. While sad, it is the reality of life out here. Please respect … that this was not preventable, or predictable, and there is no cause for concern.”