The best book that has yet been written about the wild horses of the east coast is Bonnie Gruenberg's work, "Hoof Prints In The Sand". Within the next few month's a better book will come out, and one that I do not ever expect to see bested, her encyclical "Wild Horse Dilemma: Conflicts and Controversies of The Atlantic Coast Herds". It is comprehensive, a stellar piece of research, and simply fascinating to read.
I got a chance to read the book before it went to final publishing. Everyone will find their own favorite parts by I am especially drawn to her research on the "two source" theory of the background of the wild horses of the Outer Banks. It may very well be that there was a significant introduction of Colonial Spanish horse genetics through what were called Chickasaw horses (horses from the tribes of the southeast prior to their deportation to Oklahoma). I doubt that the other source , called Seminoles in the old writings actually came directly from those tribes. I suspect that they are remnants of the earliest horses to reach the Outer Banks.They are the smaller of the two possible root strains. Living and evolving on the harsh environment of the Outer Banks would case the horses to become smaller over time.
If you have a question about any of the island horses and if the answer is not in this book, the answer is not known.
(Here is a picture of the author a few years ago when she rode with us and gave my riders a special presentation on her research)
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