B Y 



KATHLEEN 



OS 0/ 



A N G I O N E 



extension specialist from NC State. 



"I think we are going to see that these ponies 

 are getting by on a lot less than what we would 

 have expected," says Yoder. 



Adult horses can eat 1 .5 to 2 percent of 

 their body weight each day, and according to 

 conventional wisdom their diets should contain 

 about 8 percent protein within that range, says 

 Stuska. Breeding or lactating adults require more. 

 But preliminary analyses of the Shackleford 

 ponies' forage samples found much smaller 

 protein percentages. 



"They're definitely not getting extra protein 

 or energy," says Stuska. "What are they getting out 

 there, nutritionally, that sustains them so well?" 



Ponies, Not People 



Stuska's office in the Harkers Island 

 visitor's center is fairly typical, except for a 

 pair of stirrups and chaps hanging on the wall, 

 and a long felt board opposite her desk. Four 

 sections of the board represent different areas 

 of Shackleford Banks. Clusters of paper strips, 

 labeled with names and numbers representing 

 different ponies and their preferred areas on the 

 island, adorn each section. 



The ponies are given numbers for 

 identification and research purposes, she says. 

 "Their names are for convenience, not because 

 they are pets." 



Stuska is adamant about keeping the ponies 



wild, both on the island and in public perception. 

 She is hesitant to let publications refer to the 

 ponies by name, lest people begin saddling 

 them with human personality traits. That could 

 lead visitors to try and approach or feed the 

 ponies, and foreign foods could cause digestive 

 problems or death. And should the ponies begin 

 associating people with food, visitors would be 

 at increased risk — imagine a 900-pound pony 

 eyeballing your granola bar. 



All of the study volunteers adhere to 

 the "ponies, not pets" mindset. But no matter 

 how objective everyone strives to be, there is 

 no denying they are drawn to the indefinable 

 charisma of the banker ponies. 



Continued 



