Day Trips
Trying out the Assateague Horse ID app
By KristinJuly 28, 20174 min read
First, you have to agree to follow the rules.
Then you have to find a horse. Bonus points if you find several, like I did, but you can only ID one at a time.
After you take a picture, you'll be lead to the field identifier. First, identify the color of the horse--there's black, bay, sorrel pinto, bay pinto, sorrel/chestnut, buckskin, palomino and palomino pinto. I didn't know what most of these were beforehand, but tap on the little question mark and there will be a description of the color along with an example picture.
We're almost there! Now you just identify the gender and specific characteristics or markings of the horse. There's a long list of characteristics with more descriptions and pictures for reference.
I had to choose from four different horses that were all sorrel/chestnut colored and female with no markings. I'm pretty sure the horse I saw was N9BFV, who doesn't appear to have a name. (Edit: turns out there were markings I could choose from to ID this horse, like the side her mane is on and the presence of her short forelock. She still appears to be N9BFV.)
And that's one in the books! It's pretty cool that the app includes a guide book so you can keep track of all the horses you've seen.
You can also view horses that other people have identified under the "Recently ID'd" page.
Most recently someone had spotted Yankee.
How lucky you are with the app and horse sightings in general just depends on the day you visit. I went on an overcast Saturday and only saw one horse during the several hours I was there (one woman I met on a trail asked desperately, "have you seen any ponies today?"). When I tried to ID it the one pony I saw, I found that I didn't have good enough reception where I was standing, so I soon gave up, and I don't think my picture is clear enough to try to ID it from home.
By the way, this is what the screen looks like when you're taking the picture. Pretty simple. Props to you if you can tell me who this mystery pony is!
But, if your pictures are good enough, you can wait until your phone has better reception and try to identify a horse later on. That's what I did when I went on Tuesday and got up close and personal with three horses that were hanging around a parking lot. Here are a few non-cellphone photos from my pony ID adventure on Tuesday. Good luck to you on your own expeditions, and don't give up!
I knew it would be a good day when I crossed the bridge and immediately saw a horse on the road (this is the only cellphone picture because I was driving, albeit very slowly).
The app tells me that this guy is Bodacious Bob, a 17-year-old Bay Pinto Stallion.
Bob didn't seem to mind having his photo taken. Sometimes it seemed like he was posing.
Time for a little rolling around.
N9BFV takes a rest in the grass.
A few people gathered to look out at all the horses that had congregated nearby.
Just a quick bite to eat, and then they were on their way.About Kristin
Kristin is a writer and photographer in Ocean City, Maryland, and is the content manager for OceanCity.com and other State Ventures, LLC sites. She loves getting reader-submitted stories and photos, so send her an email anytime. She also works part-time at the Art League of Ocean City and the Ocean City Film Festival and lives just off the peninsula with her dog and fiancé. Her photos can be found on Instagram @oc_kristin.
Get Ocean City in your inbox
Updates, events, and deals — delivered weekly. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
From visitors
Comments
Have something to add? Drop a comment below.
Be the first to share your experience.