A herd of 100 wild ponies (10 to 12 hands) rove about the Grayson Highlands State Park in the Appalachians of Virginia. Local inhabitants say the ponies were released in the 1970s (some sources claim the 1940s) to graze down the meadows. The wild cattle who are pastured on the mountain sides are brought in during the winter, but these ponies do quite well foraging for themselves over the winter.
Certainly some of the herd look like they have some Icelandic breeding, although many look just a bit taller than a Shetland. There is a silver dapple herd stallion that looks quite Icelandic. And there were Icelandics in the US in the 70s, not so many in the 40s.
Use this link to check out the photos. What do you think? I was unable to find any genetic studies of the origins of this herd.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/more-than-100-ponies-roam-free-this-park-virginia-180959786/
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