Assateague Analyzing Feces To Determine Mares’ Future Pregnancies

ASSATEAGUE — While it certainly isn’t the most glamorous aspect of managing the famed wild horses on Assateague, a biological technician is spending much of November conducting pregnancy tests on many of the mares on the barrier island in an attempt to predict how many if any new foals will join the herd in the coming year.

Assateague Island biological technician Allison Turner has been following as many as 29 mares in the population of wild horses on the barrier island waiting for them to defecate. The samples are collected, frozen and sent to a lab to be analyzed to determine if any of the mares will be expecting next spring.

There could be one or two new foals next spring, or as many as five or six, or possibly even zero. For two decades or more, Turner has been carefully monitoring the birthing habits of the island’s most famed residents and the information, more specifically the fecal matter, she collects this month will help tell the story for the next year.

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