ASSATEAGUE ISLAND NATIONAL SEASHORE, Md. — A woman in Maryland was kicked by one of the wild horses that live on Assateague Island National Seashore after she hit it with a shovel.
In a video posted on Facebook, horses gather around a blanket and chairs on the beach. The woman in the video approaches the horse from behind and hits it with a shovel. The horse then kicks the woman, knocking her to the ground.
The woman was not seriously injured, according to Chesapeake Bay Magazine.
Law enforcement officials said that the woman was violating the island’s wildlife protection code which prohibits “the feeding, touching, teasing, frightening or intentional disturbing of wildlife nesting, breeding or other activities.” Signs on the beach warn beachgoers to maintain a distance of 40 feet from the horses at all times.
Over 200 feral horses, sometimes referred to as Assateague horses or Chincoteague ponies, live on the narrow, 37-mile long Assateague Island located off the eastern coast of Maryland and northern Virginia. The island is owned by the federal government.
Cox Media Group
