An increase in biting incidents at the Assateague Island National Seashore in Maryland has inspired a stricter policy toward visitors wishing to see the national park's famous wild horses.

Visitors ignoring the dangers of dealing with any wild animal have caused a recurring problem in the past several years, according to Allison Turner, a biological technician at Assateague.

"As long as there have been people visiting this island and horses on this island, people want to pet the horses, get close to them, feed them," said Turner, referencing her 21 years of experience with the park. Turner said just because the horses are not afraid of people does not mean they are tame.

"They are wild and they will bite you," she said

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.