The shipwreck theory isn't that horses were introduced to the Americas by a shipwreck. It's specifically the Chincoteague and Assateague ponies that are being

The shipwreck theory isn't that horses were introduced to the Americas by a shipwreck. It's specifically the Chincoteague and Assateague ponies that are being discussed here. There's a lot of speculation as to how they ended up on the islands and one of those is that they swam to shore after the ship they were on, bound for a Spanish colony further south, was wrecked and sunk.