The Hoofprints Guide to the Wild Horses of Assateague

Conflict. Controversy. Compromise. The free-roaming horses of Assateague have survived on this ever-changing barrier island for hundreds of years. Today, Assateague is a National Seashore, where natural resource conservation is prioritized and more than 2 million people a year visit to enjoy the beach, camping and myriad recreational opportunities. The clever, resilient horses have adapted well to the incursion of people into their home ranges, but the presence of horses on the island has created friction as factions argue for against their continued residence. Nearly everyone closely involved with the fate of the herds of the Atlantic coast has a territory, an agenda, a prejudice, an unexamined assumption, that impedes rational thought or discourse. When these forces collide, battles ensue that hinge more on emotion than evidence. Distilled from the encyclopedic work Wild Horse Dilemma: Conflicts and Controversies of the Atlantic Coast Herds and including bonus photographs, the Hoofprints Guides offer in-depth information about each of the free-roaming East Coast herds. Each volume details the history, management concerns, behavior, and biological realities of each of the coastal populations.