"Wild ponies at Grayson Highlands State Park" by vastateparksstaff is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia is located alongside the Appalachian Trail. It has many trails you can hike to experience the Appalachian Mountains. It also has a Homestead area located near the picnic area that you can walk through. However, the biggest attraction in the park is wild ponies! Wild ponies were introduced to the park in 1974. The reason they were brought in was to be "natural lawn mowers". They prevent reforestation of the bald mountains. Because their purpose is to eat the vegetation and keep it in check, there are many warnings to stay at least 150 feet away and to not feed the animals and to not leave food scraps behind. Petting and feeding these wild horses makes it more difficult for them to survive in the winter when humans are not around. A few alternatives to petting and feed these wild ponies is to:
Unfortunately, not everyone respects the guidelines. However, if you click on the image above, you can view a video on this park and several of the wild ponies as people are filming them!
