ASSATEAGUE ISLAND, Va.- A new generation and a bigger herd for Assateague Island. Park rangers are conducting pregnancy test for ponies to see if more of them will be walking the shoreline of Worcester County. 

Park Ranger Mike Coughlin has been collecting stool samples from mares for pregnancy tests. He says it's not a quick process. 

'It could take 2.5 or 3 hours, it just depends on when she last went and how long she's been eating," says Coughlin. 

No matter how long it takes, park officials say the horses pregnancy tests are vital for preserving Assateague Island. 

The tests are used to control, how many horses roam the shoreline. 

"It helps us in managing the population so we know how many mares will come in the following year," says Allison Turner, a biological technical for Assateague State Park.

The test samples will be sent to the St. Louis Zoo in Missouri, once all 35 mares are tested. The results will come back by the beginning of December.