Officials: Don't leave the water on for ponies

The hottest days of summer have arrived on Delmarva, baking every inch of the peninsula.

During these dog days of summer, visitors on Assateague will often leave on the water spigot for ponies, said Liz Davis, chief of interpretation and education for Assateague Island National Seashore.

READ MORE: Assateague Island State Park lifeguards receive national certification

READ MORE: Study: Assateague a jewel for local business

However, leaving the faucet on is detrimental to the ponies, Davis said.

"Horses have associated that water spigot as a potential resource," Davis said. "Horses then are habituated to that spigot, which is an unnatural water resource."

Horses then become territorial over the water spigot, Davis said, and will be willing to bite or kick anyone who they perceive as "cutting the line" to get to the water source.

Assateague has natural water sources for the horses, Davis said. Going to these sources become a part of their day, similar to finding food.

"The horses are opportunistic," she said. "They will utilize those resources right in front of them. Come the end of the summer when that people aren’t around, they aren’t going to stand there and die of dehydration. They will go back to their normal water sources. So leaving the spigot on perpetuates a bad behavior."

The water spigots are also in areas that are more centralized, such as around campsites, Davis said.

Because of the centralized location, there are more people — and food — present, and horses have an easy time getting into these unnatural food sources if they are not properly stored.

"We would like people — if they are visiting the beach  — to have some sort of strap to get their cooler shut," Davis said. "Some coolers snap shut but a horse can knock it over and get the food out of it that way. What we try to do is change behavior, and humans need to help do that. Zip up beach bag, strap down cooler and leave things in the car."

On Twitter @hughesg19