Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Chincoteagues: Never Getting the Credit They Deserve


Had one gone to Assateague in 1800 I suspect that one would have found horses indistinguishable from the Spanish horses of the Outer Banks. Unfortunately during the 20th Century modern horses were put on the island and turned the horses into fusion horses with Spanish roots. Arabians were a big part of that mix and some Morgan blood found its way in.  There is the widespread belief that Shetlands were introduced but I am not aware of any documentation or DNA proof of that.

 In any event, the resulting horse is a super horse. The Chincoteagues have Corolla like endurance but gaiting is not prevalent among them as among the Corollas. Like Corollas they have great hooves and good bone. In addition, they carry a tobiano pinto coloring that I think is among the most beautiful of all horse colors.Some of the best horses that I have produced resulted from crossing a Chicoteague stallion with several BLM mares.

 I have several Corolla stallions and a Shackleford stallion available for breeding at no charge to Chincoteague mares. I have no doubt that the resulting cross would make great trail horses. This is Peter Maxwell,as a very young foal. His father is a Corolla and his mother is a Chincoteague/BLM cross. He is Ashley's horse and shows tremendous athleticism and responds to her perfectly.
Unfortunately, the infusion of modern horse blood keeps these horses out of the Corolla offsite breeding program--but it does not keep them from being super horses.

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