Bachelor band at the "Daily Submerge," Shackleford Banks, NC, July 1999. Photo: Carolyn Salter Mason
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Shackleford Banks Horses
This project documents the history of the wild
horses of North Carolina's Outer Banks and their place in local
tradition. Once targeted for removal from the region, and later
threatened by a National Park Service plan for their management,
the horses were defended by a groundswell of support that resulted
in the creation of the Foundation for Shackleford Horses and, in
1998, a federal law protecting them. Arguments for leaving intact
the herd of diminutive animals, also called ponies because of their
small size, came from biologists, geneticists, historians,
legislators, veterinarians, and farmers. It was argued that the
Shackleford wild horses are the oldest documented population in
North America; that they are genetically linked to the same Spanish
mustangs from which the wild Montana herds are descended; that they
were already present before European settlement in the region; and
that their presence has become the focus of some culturally
significant traditions. The chief tradition surrounding the horses
is the annual roundup, or "pony-penning", which serves to control
the size of the herd by auctioning selected individuals while also
providing an important social event that binds the community. At a
time when development has pushed almost all other horses from the
Outer Banks, the Shackleford Banks herd remains a cultural and
historical legacy, protected under cooperative management between
the Foundation for Shackleford Horses, Inc. and the National Park
Service at Cape Lookout National Seashore.
Originally submitted by: Walter B. Jones, Representative (3rd District).
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The Local Legacies project provides a "snapshot" of American Culture as it was expressed in spring of 2000. Consequently, it is not being updated with new or revised information with the exception of "Related Website" links.
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