The Hoofprints Guide to the Wild Horses of Assateague (Hoofprints Guides)

Conflict. Controversy. Compromise. The free-roaming horses of Assateague have survived on this ever-changing barrier island for hundreds of years. Today, Assateague is a National Seashore, where natural resource conservation is prioritized and more than 2 million people a year visit to enjoy the beach, camping and myriad recreational opportunities. The clever, resilient horses have adapted well to the incursion of people into their home ranges, but the presence of horses on the island has created friction as factions argue for against their continued residence. Nearly everyone closely involved with the fate of the herds of the Atlantic coast has a territory, an agenda, a prejudice, an unexamined assumption, that impedes rational thought or discourse. When these forces collide, battles ensue that hinge more on emotion than evidence. Wild horses have lived on the Atlantic coast for hundreds of years. Now confined to a few barrier islands in four states, they attract millions of visitors even as they generate speculation, concern, and spirited debate. Millions of visitors who frequent vacation spots along the Atlantic Wild Horse Trail are eager to learn about the wild herds that roam the nearby islands. The Hoofprints Guide Series engage the reader with detailed information about the history, environment, behavior, and prospects of these intriguing animals. Each inexpensive guide presents a realistic, detailed account of one Atlantic coast herd and is packed with black-and-white photographs. The Hoofprints Guides are appealing to a general readership, yet are well-referenced and accurate enough to satisfy the scholar. Each of the Hoofprints Guides has been abridged from Bonnie Gruenberg’s Wild Horse Dilemma: Conflicts and Controversies of the Atlantic Coast Herds (2015). This comprehensive work is the only book in print covering all the wild herds surviving in the eastern United States. It is encyclopedic, copiously illustrated, and meticulously documented. Dilemma won the Eric Hoffer, Next Generation Indie, and Independent Publisher book awards, and is a finalist for best nonfiction book in the American Horse Publications 2016 Equine Media Awards. Reviewers have praised it as “the best work ever written about East Coast wild horses (or wild horses period!)” and “an in-depth read not to be missed by serious wild horse enthusiasts.” The Hoofprints Guides and The Wild Horse Dilemma are available in bookstores and gift shops near the wild horse ranges and elsewhere and online at www.quaggapress.com. Quagga Press is an independent publishing company that focuses on equine and equestrian subjects, wildlife, and conservation. Additional information and photographs are available for free at www.wildhorseislands.com