10
May
According to Zoe Lucas the diet of Sable Islands feral horses includes fescue poa and marram grasses as well as beach pea Lathyrus maritimus. For the past two years the Shubenacadie parks Sable Island horse lived alone in a hilly paddock avoiding interaction with people and often lingering by a fence next to the reindeer enclosure.
The closest they might have come to extinction was back in 1959 when the federal government decided it wanted to turn the herd into pet food.
How do sable island horses survive winter. During August through October the Sable Island horses prepare for winter. Grazing on the plentiful vegetation including the highly nutritious beach pea of late summer and early autumn they put on weight and they don their winter coats. As early as August the horses coats start to thicken and by December their coats are woolly.
The younger the horse the thicker the coat. The long hair of winter. The horses grow fat grazing on lush summer plants.
Summer fat is the key to surviving hard winters because the dried winter leaves of Marram are not very nourishing. Horses can sense where to dig for water in a dry season. Most of the time there is plenty of food and fresh water on Sable.
The closest they might have come to extinction was back in 1959 when the federal government decided it wanted to turn the herd into pet food. Having adapted to the island so well the horses have a diet primarily sustained by the native Marram grass. Becoming gluttons in the lush summer months the wild horses will eat to bursting.
The intended build-up of fat reserves sustains them through. What do the horses eat. According to Zoe Lucas the diet of Sable Islands feral horses includes fescue poa and marram grasses as well as beach pea Lathyrus maritimus.
There are also reports of horses eating seaweed. We wondered if the abundance of sand beneath their grasslands forage wore down their teeth. An analysis of horse skulls collected by Lucas showed no unusual tooth wear.
The teeth of young horses continue to grow for six years. Our goal is to advance conservation on Sable Island by developing a complete and thorough understanding of the role of the wild feral horses in the ecosystem what the horses mean for better or worse for other species that call the island home and what we can expect for long-term population viability of the Sable Island horses. We are not shy about asking both blue sky questions about the.
The horses grow fat in the summer months but in the winter they become lean. Because there is a lot of sand in the grass and in their diet generally it wears down their teeth over the years. When food is lacking the fat in the marrow is the last to get depleted.
Some dead Sable Island horses were on their last fat reserves with just six per cent of fat left in their marrow. The horses that remain on Sable Island are feral but in the past those exported to the mainland were tamed to ride and said to be excellent tough and enduring and able to travel with ease on any terrain. Present day horses are all very hardy and thrive in an inhospitable environment.
The herds are not managed nor subject to human interference and so exhibit a range of characteristics. The population is characterized by rapid growth interrupted by periodic crashes every few years. After several mild winters the population will increase but many old or very young horses will die during the next normally harsh winter.
Like other horses that live outside during cold weather Sable Island horses grow thick woolly coats. They have learned to search out protection in the hollows. For the past two years the Shubenacadie parks Sable Island horse lived alone in a hilly paddock avoiding interaction with people and often lingering by a fence next to the reindeer enclosure.
Sable Island is a small Canadian island situated 300 km southeast of Halifax Nova Scotia and about 175 km southeast of the closest point of mainland Nova Scotia in the North Atlantic Ocean. The island is staffed year round by four federal government staff rising during summer months when research projects and tourism increase. Notable for its role in early Canadian history and the Sable Island horse the island.
The grey seal population on Sable Island is about 400000. The number varies by year and season. Historically the population is far higher now than a century ago when there were only 500.
In 1895 sealers took more than 1000 seal skins from Sable Island as well as hundreds of barrels of seal oil. The population of pups also changes annually. Recent surveys show that the number of Sable Island grey.