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
 
Phyllis Erickson
Niger, Africa
B.G. Black Gold Stallion
8/15/08 on the pony farm
 
Photo by M&D Photography
Red Hats visiting the Pony Farm
7/22/08
 

(click to see larger version)
 

Photo by M&D Photography
Red Hat Gale and B.G. Stallion

The National Chincoteague Pony Association
2595 Jensen Rd.
Bellingham, WA 98226
Phone:  360-671-8338
E-mail:  GFreder426@aol.com