The Historical Origins
Sable Island, a remote stretch of land off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, is home to a small population of feral horses. These horses, which are predominantly dark, have a long and storied history on the island. The first horses were introduced to Sable Island in the late 1700s, and they quickly adapted to the wild, becoming feral. Over time, additional horses were brought to the island to enhance the genetic diversity of the herd. However, by the 1950s, the practice of rounding up these horses for private use or slaughter had pushed them to the brink of extinction. A study conducted in 2018 estimated the population at around 500 horses, a significant increase from the approximately 300 recorded in the 1970s.
Government Protection
In 1960, the Canadian government enacted legislation to protect the horses in their feral state, ensuring they could continue to live wild and free. Since the 1980s, long-term, non-invasive studies of the herd have been conducted, and in 2007, a genetic analysis revealed that the Sable Island horses were genetically distinct enough to warrant conservation efforts. In recognition of their unique heritage, the horses were declared the official horse of Nova Scotia in 2008, and in 2011, Sable Island was designated as the Sable Island National Park Reserve. The herd remains unmanaged and is legally protected from human interference. Apart from Sable Island, until 2019, the only other place these horses lived was the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park on mainland Nova Scotia, where the herd descended from horses removed from Sable Island in the 1950s.
The horses that roam Sable Island today are small, typically standing between 13 and 14 hands high, with males averaging around 360 kilograms and females about 300 kilograms. Their size is limited by the island's food supply, and horses removed from the island and provided with more nutritious diets tend to grow larger. Physically, these horses bear a resemblance to Iberian breeds, with their arched necks and sloping croups. They are stocky and compact, with short pasterns that help them navigate the sandy and uneven terrain of the island. During the winter, their coats become particularly shaggy, and their manes and tails are thick and full. While most have dark coats, some exhibit white markings, and the herd's colours include bay, chestnut, flaxen, and black. A notable characteristic of many Sable Island horses is their natural ambling gait. Before their protection, these horses were prized for their sure-footedness and smooth gaits when used by humans.
Learning about the Kind
The Sable Island horses are entirely unmanaged, living without any form of human intervention. Over the years, various entities have conducted observational research to learn more about the herd's behaviour and health. In recent decades, the population has fluctuated between 400 and 550 horses. Without natural predators on the island, older horses often succumb to starvation as their teeth wear down from constant exposure to sand and marram grass.
Sable Island itself is a narrow, crescent-shaped island located roughly 300 kilometres southeast of Nova Scotia. It stretches 42 kilometres in length and is covered in sand dunes and grasses. The island is home to over 350 bird species and 190 plant species, but the feral horses are its most famous inhabitants. While local legends suggest that the horses swam ashore from shipwrecks or were brought by 16th-century Portuguese explorers, historical and genetic evidence does not support these claims. Instead, the horses were deliberately introduced to the island in the 18th century, with the first recorded horses arriving in 1737, brought by Reverend Andrew Le Mercier from Boston. Although many of these horses were stolen by passing sailors, the present-day herd is believed to descend primarily from horses seized by the British from the Acadians during their expulsion.
Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, the horses on Sable Island were periodically rounded up and either kept by island residents or sold on the mainland, often for slaughter. By the late 1950s, the horses' meat was primarily used for dog food, and the population was in grave danger. A public campaign led by schoolchildren succeeded in saving the horses, and in 1960, the Canadian government granted them full protection under the Canadian Shipping Act. This law prohibited any interference with the horses without written permission.
Starting in the mid-1980s, researchers began long-term studies of the Sable Island horses, and by the mid-2000s, most of the horses had documented histories. A genetic analysis conducted in 2007 found that the Sable Island horses were genetically similar to light draft and multipurpose breeds found in eastern mainland Canada, with some differences likely due to natural selection and genetic drift. However, the study also highlighted that the Sable Island horses had diverged enough from other breeds to merit special conservation efforts. The loss of these horses would significantly impact the genetic diversity of the Canadian horse population. Genetic erosion remains a concern for the Sable Island herd due to its small size. A 2012 study of mitochondrial DNA revealed that the Sable Island horse was the least genetically diverse among 24 horse populations studied worldwide.
Conservation Efforts
In 2008, the Nova Scotia Legislature officially recognised the Sable Island horse as one of the province's symbols. The following year, the Canadian government established the Sable Island National Park Reserve, further protecting the island and its iconic horses. Until 2019, a small number of Sable Island horses also lived at the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park, where they had been relocated in the 1950s by the Canadian Department of Transport. The last of these horses was euthanised in September 2019. Despite their protected status, some critics argue that the horses are an invasive species, posing a threat to the island's ecological integrity.
A 2019 study revealed that the Sable Island horses had about three times the level of parasite eggs in their faeces compared to domesticated horses, with an average of 1,500 eggs per gram. The horses also suffered from respiratory and reproductive diseases caused by parasitic lungworms. Necropsies of horses that died in 2017 and 2018 showed that young horses often succumbed to starvation and hypothermia during harsh winters, as they lacked sufficient body fat and access to adequate vegetation. Adult horses died from various other causes. These findings confirmed the results of a similar study conducted in 1972. The study also noted that the horses inadvertently consume significant amounts of sand, which wears down their teeth and can block their gastrointestinal tracts.
Typically, the mortality rate for the Sable Island horses is around 1% annually, but in the harsh spring of 2017, the mortality rate spiked to 10%. Despite these challenges, the Sable Island horses continue to captivate the imagination of those who learn about them, standing as a symbol of resilience and the enduring power of nature.