Corolla Wild Horse Fund

4 days ago

Horses coming around the end of the soundside fence and onto the paved roads of Corolla is not new. They've been doing it since the fence was constructed in the mid-90s, and CWHF has been relocating them for just as long. The first group of horses were taken to Dews Island in 1999 for this very reason. Over the years, the fence has been extended as far out as possible, additional sections of fencing have been added, the boardwalk was reinforced to prevent them from walking under it...the list goes on and on.

The fence is a deterrent, but it was never meant or expected to be completely pony-proof.

These are wild horses who have no idea what it means to be fenced in, they are skilled problem solvers, extremely routine-oriented, and they share a generational herd knowledge that has been passed down (primarily by mares) for many decades. There are a few horses still alive who lived in Corolla before the fence was constructed, and even more who are first-generation offspring of horses who once called the pavement home.

This is why, 30 years later, we continue to have horses who circumvent the fence on occasion.

The first horse our current herd management team removed from the wild in 2016 was an old stallion named Roamer, who began establishing territory in the area between the cattle guard and Corolla Village in the late winter of that year. When this behavior first began, he also had two mares with him - Blossom and Bayberry. After we relocated Roamer to the farm, the two mares stopped coming around the fence every single day, but the behavior didn't stop entirely. Another stallion, Rambler, inherited all of the mares who lived in the refuge right at the end of the pavement. Led by Blossom and Bayberry, they continued to come around the fence occasionally in the winter and early spring, but it was manageable and they were relatively easy to move back to the 4x4. We have an incredible group of local volunteers who have been dedicated to moving the horses back to safety, and if it weren't for their help, we probably would have ended up removing more horses over the last decade.

It takes a village!

Blossom was removed from the wild in 2023 after she tore a ligament in one of her front legs. Bayberry remained wild and took over as the boss mare who decided when it was time for everyone to head into town. There are currently 3-4 other mares and their offspring living in the area just north of the pavement, and a seven-year-old stallion has inherited them.

This fall, Bayberry began coming around the fence every single day, sometimes alone, sometimes with the stallion, and sometimes with another older mare named Bellissima. Bellissima’s sire was Roamer, so she is another good example of how this behavior gets passed down through the generations. The mares’ new stallion really complicated things since he's young and highly driven to breed and protect his territory. He was especially on edge from following the two older mares while leaving the rest of his harem behind on the 4x4. Their movements became increasingly erratic, they were getting difficult to safely direct back to the 4x4, and were starting to display some signs of aggression towards people. It's always been inherently dangerous for them to be on the pavement moving in and out of traffic, potentially putting pedestrians, drivers, and themselves at risk. We’ve debated pulling Bayberry for several years because we really wanted to stop this cycle and prevent young horses from learning how to go around the fence, but as you know, the decision to remove a horse from the wild is very difficult.

However, over the last few weeks it became clear to our team that the time had come.

Tuesday morning the horses were found behind the Whalehead Club, so we set up a pen to block their normal route back to the beach and managed to get Bayberry, Bellissima, and the stallion onto the trailer. He was taken back up the beach and released in the northernmost part of his territory, and we brought the two mares to the farm. We're hoping that the stallion will not be motivated to continue regularly coming south anymore without the mares leading the charge. We definitely do not want to remove him from the wild. Luckily, none of the younger mares seem motivated much at all to regularly come south.

Bayberry and Bellissima are both very old and haven't produced foals in many years, so we aren't losing any genetics from the herd. Normally we want the old mares to stay wild so they can teach the young horses how to navigate life on the beach, but in this case we definitely do not want this knowledge passed down! They are already settling in well to life on the farm and are very happy to be reunited with Blossom (and Blossom is happy to be back with them!). All three were very deeply bonded with each other when they were wild, and settled right back into that same relationship here on the farm.

Horses will inevitably still wander around the end of the fence every once in a while, but it's manageable as long as it doesn't become habitual.

It's been a busy week for our Herd Management team. We’d like to thank our staff and volunteers for all of the hard work. There have been a lot of early mornings, long days, and late nights not just these last few weeks but over the last decade. It's a bittersweet ending to these mares' lives in the wild, but their removal was done in the best interests of the herd, our community, and their own safety. As far as we know, these are probably the last three living members of the herd who remember the time before the fence was constructed and the horses were moved north. They will have a wonderful "retirement" here on the farm, and their legacy will certainly never be forgotten.

We’ll be sharing a follow-up post about our incredible volunteer team and all the work they’ve done over the years to help us keep these horses wild, free, and safe, so stay tuned for that. In the meantime, remember you can come visit Bayberry, Blossom, Bellissima, and the rest of the rescue farm herd at our open house tomorrow from 9am-1pm. ... See MoreSee Less

Corolla Wild Horse Fund

7 days ago

Congratulations Olivia, Ally, JJ, Albert, Ethan, and Emily! 🤩 What an amazing (and well-deserved!) honor.

You can see the film this Saturday at the Outer Banks Environmental Film Festival. For more info and tickets, visit their website: www.obxeff.com ... See MoreSee Less

Corolla Wild Horse Fund

2 weeks ago

Thanks for coming to visit! It was a lovely afternoon! 🐎 ... See MoreSee Less

Corolla Wild Horse Fund

3 weeks ago

Beatrice continues to do well at the farm, and here are some photos of her band still in the wild, taken just about an hour or so ago. Lots have people have understandably been asking about them! As you can see they are in good shape and not displaying any signs of distress. Life goes on! 🩷 ... See MoreSee Less

Corolla Wild Horse Fund

4 weeks ago

On Monday, October 12 we received a call about a horse that was down and struggling to stand. Upon arrival, our staff found 5-year-old mare Beatrice who was indeed down and despite trying, was unable to get up. We didn’t find any obvious signs of illness or injury; she was bright and alert but seemed to have no strength in her hind end.

We called our veterinarian who advised us to administer an anti-inflammatory/painkiller while he started making his way to Carova. Once on the scene, he examined Beatrice (there were no broken bones, she didn’t have a fever, she’s in good body condition, bodily functions were all normal) and we made several failed attempts at getting her up. Right as we were about to call it she made one last effort to stand, and with our help was able to stand all the way up. She was weight bearing on all four legs, and while a bit weak and wobbly, was able to walk. She immediately started grazing and the longer she stood the more stable she became. Because of this, we decided to leave her with her harem for the night and see how she did.

We found the group again first thing Tuesday morning about a mile from where we’d left them the day before, and Beatrice was still standing and walking around. We checked on her several times throughout the day on Tuesday and she remained upright and mobile. However, around 5pm we received a call that she’d gone down again and was struggling to stand. We responded and administered more medication in the hopes that she’d be able to stand on her own during the night.

Unfortunately, Wednesday morning she was still down in the same place so at that point we made the decision to remove her. We got her onto a gurney and onto our trailer, and took her to our farm on the mainland to meet the veterinarian. Not long after we got back to the farm Beatrice sat up, got her legs underneath herself, and managed to stand up on her own. Because we still weren’t sure exactly what was going on with her, we got her comfortable on the trailer for the night (gave her a deep bed of shavings, a fan, hay, and water), medicated her again, and gave her some vitamin/mineral supplements to support her as well.

Since Wednesday afternoon she has been eating, drinking, whinnying at the other horses, and overall has been in good shape. Her hind end is still very weak but so far she’s been able to lie down and stand back up on her own without too much of a struggle. Our veterinarian ran bloodwork and it came back relatively normal except for some inflammation markers that were quite high. This could mean many different things - infection, tissue damage, something chronic…the list is long. We are hoping that further testing will help narrow down the possibilities, but it will be a few days before those results come back from the lab.

Until we have more answers Beatrice will remain in strict quarantine, but today we took her off the trailer and moved her into a larger paddock with some grass. She is very happy about that! We’ve seen her lie down and stand back up once today, which is also a good sign.

Removing a horse from the wild is always a very difficult decision to make, and it’s especially hard with horses like Beatrice. She’s young and produced her first foal last year - a lovely filly. She was very deeply bonded with her own mother, and has been in the same harem with her and another older mare since she was born. So not only are we losing an exceptionally valuable broodmare from the herd, but we’re separating horses who have strong emotional bonds with each other.

Beatrice’s dam, her daughter, and the other mare never left her side for the three days we were monitoring her in the wild. Her mom stood over her while she was down and they all stuck very close once we got her up on Monday. But when a horse can’t naturally keep up with its harem or move freely to eat and drink, that is when we begin to consider removal. In Beatrice’s case we gave her as much of an opportunity as we could to stay wild but ultimately, intervention was the right course of action not only for her own welfare but for the safety of the rest of the herd too.

Her mom, daughter, the other mare, and the stallion are all doing fine in her absence. We’ve been keeping a close eye on them.

Beatrice is not out of the woods by any stretch, but she continues to amaze us with her strength, resiliency, and her will to survive. As long as she is comfortable we will continue to seek out answers and do our best to treat whatever is going on with her. She’s very sweet and level-headed, and is adapting well to being on the farm.

We’d like to thank the tour drivers who called us about Beatrice both times she went down. We’d also like to thank Joan and Doug for providing us with a safe and quiet place on their property Wednesday morning, and we’d like to give a HUGE shout out to Trey, Wesley, and Tom with EZE for helping us load her onto the trailer. And of course, as always, thank you to our staff for handling this incredibly difficult situation with professionalism and compassion.

As soon as we have more information from the tests, or if there’s a change in Beatrice’s behavior, we will post an update. But for now, please keep your fingers crossed and send her good thoughts.

If you’d like to make a donation towards Beatrice’s treatment and care, you can do so on our website: www.corollawildhorses.com/one-time-donations/ ... See MoreSee Less