As horse fans we have to go and see the horses when we find out that wild horses are freely roaming in Assateague Island National Seashore.
The Assateague Island is located off the eastern coast, 15 minutes south of Ocean City. According to TripAdvisor, wild horses can easily be spotted driving inside the Assateague Island National Seashore. So we decided to pay a visit during our recent trip to Ocean City.
It was a beautiful morning, and we were there about 6:30. The gate was open, however no one there to collect fee yet. Since the Visitor Center opens at 9 am, we decided to rely on the Google map.
We spotted no horses driving through the entire length of Bayberry Dr. However, here and there, we detected horse drops, and they were fresh, which was quite encouraging.
South Ocean Beach
This beach is wide open, and very quiet. Too early for a Friday morning. The sand along the beach is incredible in height, almost like dunes to me.
Next we drove around near the Old Ferry Landing.
No horses there either. No ones except the two love birds to the right of the house.
Back to the road, this time we turned left onto Bayside Dr. The mosquitoes and black flies were quite abundant, ready to feast on us to break the fast.
Marsh Nature trail looked inviting, it was raised boardwalk overlooking the bay. Since we couldn’t find horses, might as well enjoy the trail. And we did. This trail itself had made the trip worthwhile.
While we were at the trail, we asked bypassers whether they caught sight of any horses, and one of the campers saw a few at his camp site.
Off to the campground we went. There were three of them! On the first impression they were just like domestic horses, shining fur coat, well-groomed mane. There was nothing “wild” about them.
They seemed quite used to people, nibbling around the tent and the rest area; some even tried to get food from the campers.
It was neat to watch them interact with people. A campground should be the first location to seek for wild horses! Happy and content, we headed back to Ocean City, not knowing the best was yet to come.
As we were pulling out to exit the park, we encountered two more horses. One was wandering at the PARKING LOT; the other literally came to us– crossing the road, we stopped our car to let her pass.
Obviously she owned the road!
It was a really fun day!
So you don’t need to get up super early to see horses, they have the same schedule as we humans. They stroll out during breakfast time, to parking lots and campgrounds.
A word of caution: keep distance, don’t get too close to them. They are wild horses after all.
Chasing The Wind 