North
Carolina's Wild Horses
The Ocracoke
"Banker" Ponies (cont'd)
With
so few horses on Ocracoke, the Park Service brought in two horses from the Shackleford
herd to add to the blood lines. Managing the population on Ocracoke is important
since there is only so much room available within the fenced pastures. The Park Service
never wanted the horses to stay on the island in the first place since they were
not a "native" species. However, since their historical and cultural significance
was an integral part of Ocracoke, and indeed the entire Outer Banks, these horses
were kept. The same is true of their nearest neighbors, the Shackleford Banks herd,
which is also under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service.
Ocracoke residents used to round
up the island horses yearly for Independence Day. They would brand the new colts
since the last roundup, and often buyers from the mainland would come to buy some
of the horses.
Historically, the horses were
used by Ocracoke residents for riding and work. The Lifesaving Service used the "Banker" ponies
to pull rescue carts and for riding patrol along the beaches. In more recent times
the
Coast
Guard
also
rode them on beach patrols. In
1956
the
first mounted Boy Scout troop in the nation was formed on Ocracoke, and the scouts
rode
Ocracoke "Banker"
ponies which they trained themselves. This didn't last long though because the National
Park Service took over most of the land on the island in the '60s, and the N.C. Legislature
passed a law to forbid horses running free on the island. The cost of keeping and
feeding
their horses instead of letting them graze free soon spelled the end of the mounted
scout troop.
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