The horses of Cumberland Island

       horses of Cumberland Island

When we went to Cumberland island, we saw horses grazing in the woods. Curious, I looked up how they got there. This is the information I found. This blog entry talks about how they got there and the myth behind the horses.


 how they got there

the horses on Cumberland island were brought by the Spanish in the 16th century. There are about 150- 200 horses on the island. The horses on the island are probably descendants of the Spanish horses.


the story behind them


the horses are not native to Cumberland island. the myth states that the Spanish conquistadors brought them over to the island. Then, finding no use for them, then let them go feral by letting them roam the woods. After awhile people wanted to find a use for them and hired Robert Stafford, a plantation owner, to try and tame them. Robert let people use them for their own personal use. They were then used for cavalry in the american civil war. in 1972 the National Park Service bought the island and declared it the Cumberland island National seashore. Since then, the herd has become one of seven feral horse herds of the USA. This is only a myth because no one knows if this is completely true.






now you know all about the wild horses of Cumberland island.








here are some pictures of the horses