The National Chincoteague Pony Association --
360-671-8338
ON THE
CHINCOTEAGUE PONY FARM
written by: Gale Park
Frederick
THE CHINCOTEAGUE PONY
The happiness that comes
from living, visiting, just experiencing farm life, Is joyous and sometimes
there isn't enough words to describe the feelings that over-whelm ones
existence.
Hopefully, we can share some today with you. This page is in honor of
all animal lovers. The goodness that comes from their hearts is
immeasurable.
I, Gale Park Frederick, grew up on a farm in Ferndale, Washington.
Born and raised in Ferndale, a little town of 5,000 town folk now, it
was just on the map, 61 years ago. I have lived on a farm almost all my life.
Early Settlers to the NorthWest enjoyed chicken houses full of
chickens supplied by
the Government HomeSteaders Act. Still today, you can see the chicken
houses
on old farms.
In the spring time, the
new growth burst forward on the farm. Abundance of new Life occurs all around
one. The birds are singing their happy Spring songs. New birds have flown
in from down South. The bees are humming. The sun feels warm. The air has
a new fresh scent. The animals have a new look to them and a new zest for
life.
New life comes fast in
the great Northwest. We have 18 hours of daylight and 6 hours of darkness
at this time of year. In the Winter it is just the opposite, with 16 hrs
of night darkness and 8 hrs of daylight. In the Spring, the frogs are singing
at night till dawn. With all this glory, new life is all around you. Every
day one sees new and exciting things ON THE FARM.
The new foals are born early
Spring after a 336 day gestation period (ll months). With a little
planning a farm can have 2-3 little foals romping and playing together in
the fields. Around 6:00 P.M. is the time all animals seem to get frisky.
Especially the horses. The whole herd, adults and youngsters will join in
together in the fun.
We are never short of
help ON THE PONY FARM. Lots of volunteers love to stand and watch the beauty
of the horses interacting with each other in the fields. The feeding is rewarding
as well, in return one sees the thankful kind eyes and the nodding of the
head as you throw the hay to the horse. When the horses see you coming, they
call out to you. Each horse has their own voice, just like humans do. I can
be in the house and hear one of the horses, and I know which horse is neighing.
And horses also have different calls for different situations. The mother
horse has a different call to her foal then the one she uses for other
times.
It's easy to find one's
self sitting under an apple tree, sitting in a barn full of sweet smelling
hay, or just standing by a fence and being in awe of the horse herd. With
grown up horses and foals, eating with such comforting noises, and also the
scent of the horses are relaxing and calming. Even at night, one can feel
the heat from the herd and see the steam rising from their backs and their
nostrils. It gets cold at night in the Northwest. The temperature can drop
20 degrees from the day temperature. In the evenings there's a stillness
that comes over the night which is the time most foals are born. In the safety
of the herd and darkness, the foal will make its appearance. Many mornings
I have come out to see more legs on a Mare then she should have. My heart
always skips a beat or two as I make my way for a closer look. I know my
face has a smile ear to ear as I slowly walk up quietly and stand a little
ways back to take a good look at God's new miracle. The herd has gathered
around the new arrival and the Mare. The horses are so protective of the
new foal. For the foal, there are many new lessons to come and only from
his mother. For example, after birthing, the mother horse gently maneuvers
her new baby around so it can find his first warm drink of milk. After the
first lesson, the foal has
learned where to get its nourishment. The second
lesson is to stay by Mother horse. Do not wander off. Stay at the side
of Mother. If the Mother horse notices her foal getting a ways from her,
she will drop food from her mouth, as she stops eating and runs to her foal,
calling to her foal at the same time. With the Mare's head and body, she
brings the foal back to the feeding area. Sometimes, it depends on the Mare's
patience, a mother horse will take a nip at her foal just to get her point
across to her little one. The third lesson comes in about 2 days after the
birth and it's how to drink from a water trough. A lot of lessons are learned
by the foal by watching Mother. For example, a Mare will bring her foal to
the water trough and make a soft mother neigh to her foal and then she will
drink the water. That always works. The little foal will start dipping his
head into the water. Sputtering, because the foal generally dips his head
to deeply, and the water comes up its nose. Lesson learned. By now every
time the Mare calls out to her foal, the foal runs back to the Mare. Sometimes
one has a Herd Mare that will stay back and stand over the sleeping foals
while the Mothers graze in the grassy fields. Of course, this is after the
foals are older, 3-4 months of age.
Life ON THE FARM is wonderful. More will follow. Come and visit us often
as we will be updating our web pages.
B.G.'s Sterling Silver Colt
Miss ArrowheadNine's Foal
few weeks old , DOB: 7/1/06
photo by gale frederick
@The National Chincoteague Pony Association's
Farm
Kayla Park
and Ginger of Assateague.
IceCreamSundae and her first
foal,
He's A Suitor Stud Colt.
Just born a few hours.
3/1/04
Farm Cat Watching The Ponies
Chincoteague Ponies on The Farm
Deb and April with Betz and
Honey Two. 1979
B.G. Black Gold Stallion
Shooting Star, one month old
Raccoons watching the Chincoteague Ponies on the Farm
Black Diamond Mare
and her 3 month old stud colt,
Ranger Tin Star
Looking for a Pony
Visitors to the Chincoteague Pony Farm
Diane Partlow and Kayla Park with Ginger and
Cinnamon
Merrilyn Bissell with Ginger
of Assateague
Kayla Park with Cinnamon and Ginger
Marijo and Brandi Berwick with
Black Diamond, Night Dancer and Island Jet Foals
Mary and Vinny saying "Hi" to Black Gold
Stallion and IceCreamSundae Mare. 6/05
Vinny with Black Gold Stallion and IceCreamSundae
Mare. 6/05
Shirley Swedberg feeding carrots to CrackerJack
of Assateague. 7/22/08
The happiness that comes
from living, visiting, just experiencing farm life, Is joyous and sometimes
there isn't enough words to describe the feelings that over-whelm ones
existence.
In the spring time, the
new growth burst forward on the farm. Abundance of new Life occurs all around
one. The birds are singing their happy Spring songs. New birds have flown
in from down South. The bees are humming. The sun feels warm. The air has
a new fresh scent. The animals have a new look to them and a new zest for
life.
New life comes fast in
the great Northwest. We have 18 hours of daylight and 6 hours of darkness
at this time of year. In the Winter it is just the opposite, with 16 hrs
of night darkness and 8 hrs of daylight. In the Spring, the frogs are singing
at night till dawn. With all this glory, new life is all around you. Every
day one sees new and exciting things ON THE FARM.
The new foals are born early
Spring after a 336 day gestation period (ll months). With a little
planning a farm can have 2-3 little foals romping and playing together in
the fields. Around 6:00 P.M. is the time all animals seem to get frisky.
Especially the horses. The whole herd, adults and youngsters will join in
together in the fun.
We are never short of
help ON THE PONY FARM. Lots of volunteers love to stand and watch the beauty
of the horses interacting with each other in the fields. The feeding is rewarding
as well, in return one sees the thankful kind eyes and the nodding of the
head as you throw the hay to the horse. When the horses see you coming, they
call out to you. Each horse has their own voice, just like humans do. I can
be in the house and hear one of the horses, and I know which horse is neighing.
And horses also have different calls for different situations. The mother
horse has a different call to her foal then the one she uses for other
times.
It's easy to find one's
self sitting under an apple tree, sitting in a barn full of sweet smelling
hay, or just standing by a fence and being in awe of the horse herd. With
grown up horses and foals, eating with such comforting noises, and also the
scent of the horses are relaxing and calming. Even at night, one can feel
the heat from the herd and see the steam rising from their backs and their
nostrils. It gets cold at night in the Northwest. The temperature can drop
20 degrees from the day temperature. In the evenings there's a stillness
that comes over the night which is the time most foals are born. In the safety
of the herd and darkness, the foal will make its appearance. Many mornings
I have come out to see more legs on a Mare then she should have. My heart
always skips a beat or two as I make my way for a closer look. I know my
face has a smile ear to ear as I slowly walk up quietly and stand a little
ways back to take a good look at God's new miracle. The herd has gathered
around the new arrival and the Mare. The horses are so protective of the
new foal. For the foal, there are many new lessons to come and only from
his mother. For example, after birthing, the mother horse gently maneuvers
her new baby around so it can find his first warm drink of milk. After the
first lesson, the foal has
learned where to get its nourishment. The second
lesson is to stay by Mother horse. Do not wander off. Stay at the side
of Mother. If the Mother horse notices her foal getting a ways from her,
she will drop food from her mouth, as she stops eating and runs to her foal,
calling to her foal at the same time. With the Mare's head and body, she
brings the foal back to the feeding area. Sometimes, it depends on the Mare's
patience, a mother horse will take a nip at her foal just to get her point
across to her little one. The third lesson comes in about 2 days after the
birth and it's how to drink from a water trough. A lot of lessons are learned
by the foal by watching Mother. For example, a Mare will bring her foal to
the water trough and make a soft mother neigh to her foal and then she will
drink the water. That always works. The little foal will start dipping his
head into the water. Sputtering, because the foal generally dips his head
to deeply, and the water comes up its nose. Lesson learned. By now every
time the Mare calls out to her foal, the foal runs back to the Mare. Sometimes
one has a Herd Mare that will stay back and stand over the sleeping foals
while the Mothers graze in the grassy fields. Of course, this is after the
foals are older, 3-4 months of age.
