Assateague Island National Seashore is famous for the wild horses that inhabit its sandy shores. One misguided beachgoer tested just how feral these animals are and suffered the consequences.
In a clip shared with Tourons of National Parks (@touronsofnationalparks), viewers can see a typical beach scene with umbrellas, chairs, and even a sand toy in the foreground. What makes this clip unique is the wild horse walking through.
In the video, one person decides to reach out and give the horse a pat on the side, which prompts the animal to lash out with a hind leg and give them a swift kick. This kick knocks the person down, though they do appear to get back up and be more or less OK. The caption of this post warns: "For your safety and the safety of the horses, please obey park regulations and do not approach, touch or feed the Assateague horses."
The horses on Assateague Island, which is mostly in Maryland with about a third in Virginia, have been wild for generations, and the National Park Service manages the herd of around 150 animals. The website for the National Seashore has a horse safety page, letting visitors know how to keep themselves and their families safe.
It advises that horses may be used to humans, but that does not make them tame. These animals can bite or kick if you get too close. Their recommendation is to stay at least 40 feet away. The page also says you may be given a citation for feeding or petting wildlife.
Visiting national parks and seeing these natural places and the animals that call them home is a truly remarkable experience. In order to keep these spaces wild, it is important that tourists respect park rules.
Stories of visitors going off the path, getting too close to wildlife, and generally misbehaving are all too common. In 2024, a delicate cave ecosystem was disrupted when someone left behind their empty Cheetos bag. In Yellowstone, a calf was tragically euthanized when a visitor's interference caused its herd to reject it, per NPR.
The comment section of this post had plenty of choice words for this tourist.
One person said: "People think horses just wildly swing their legs and kick… that is false! They have deadly accuracy."
"I'm not a horse person, but even I know not to stand that close behind a horse," wrote someone else.
Another commenter joked: "Horse around and find out."
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