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Show HORSES THAT GO FISHING Strange Breed of Half-Wild Horses in North Carolina Catch Fish at Low Tide. Along Albemarle sound, on the North Carolina coast, there is mile after mile of low, sandy shore, where nothing grows except a coarse grass, a few saltwater weeds nnd wild parsley, says an exchange. On these hanks lives a strange breed of half-wild horses, known as "banker ponies." These creatures crea-tures are generally about twice the size of Shetland ponies. Every year the herd owners drive the "bankers" into pens, brand the foals with the proper mark, and catch some of the older animals to sell to the dealers. North Carolinians say that the beasts must be starved into eating grain, hay or grass, for. they have always lived on the rank marsh grass of the marshes and on fish. They catch the fish themselves at low tide; with their hoofs they dig deep holes in the sand below high water wa-ter murk ; when the tide falls they greedily devour the fish that are stranded strand-ed in these holes. . Often they fight briskly over an especially tempting morsel. In captivity these strange horses are intelligent, hut seldom arc even in temper. tem-per. Once tamed, they make excellent draft animals, for they have a strength that is disproportionate to their size. Foals that are bred from "bankers" in captivity make valuable animals strong, healthy, intelligent and far less vicious than their parents. |