Beaches where you Can Mingle with Wildlife... Wild horse beach on Assateague Island in Maryland and Virginia, USA. Perfect holiday destination for horse fans! Assateague Island is a 37-mile barrier island along the Atlantic coast, split between Maryland and Virginia. It’s famous for its pristine beaches, maritime forests, salt marshes—and most notably, its wild horses that roam freely along the dunes and shoreline. The horses, often called the Chincoteague Ponies on the Virginia side and Assatea