Corolla Wild Horse Fund

16 hours ago

We are on call for emergencies involving the wild horses 24/7, 365. It’s impossible to predict when the phone will ring or what it will be about, but the majority of the calls we get aren’t immediate emergencies. Often people are reporting injuries we’re already aware of and monitoring (but we still encourage you to always call if you see something concerning - better safe than sorry), or it’s an issue for law enforcement to handle, like people getting too close to the horses. But when the phone rings in the middle of the night we know before even answering that something very bad has happened. These are never “thanks, we’ll keep an eye on it” calls.

This was the case late on the night of July 26, when 10-year-old stallion Bullwinkle was struck and ultimately killed by someone driving a UTV on the beach. The incident was witnessed by a visitor who was surf fishing with his son and who thankfully called 911 to report it. The driver was arrested for leaving the scene, but that didn’t fix Bullwinkle’s two broken legs or internal bleeding. The damage was already done, regardless of the consequences the driver faced as a result of his actions. A young, healthy, well-bred stallion was gone from the critically endangered herd forever.

As far as we know Bullwinkle never had a chance to sire any foals. He was in the prime of his life and was well known for his strong drive to breed. He was constantly challenging other stallions and fighting for mares. In fact, the day before he was killed we posted a video of him trying to steal mares away from another stallion. These are very desirable traits for a wild stallion. Not all of them have this drive and those that do are the ones who will win the mares and pass those strong genes down to their foals. They are the horses who have shaped the herd into the strong, stable, healthy population that it is today.

Unfortunately, survival of the fittest doesn’t really come into play when faced with irresponsible, dangerous human behavior.

Last week we talked about how the Corolla horses have always lived around humans, and how that has played a big role in the development of the Bankers as a unique breed. (In case you missed it: shorturl.at/DGWhi) Long before the 4x4 beaches were a tourist destination there were already people, houses, and traffic here. The horses have learned how to navigate all of this and live in relative harmony with us - it’s an intrinsic part of their nature now.

But it’s also important to be realistic about the inherent dangers of this kind of environment, especially as more and more people access the area every year. There are some things that we can’t change or fully control. Beach driving is a necessity and traffic will always be a fact of life here. There will always be garbage cans full of trash in the summer. People will always be tempted to feed a horse an apple. These things all present threats to the horses, but only if people aren’t responsible and careful. We do have control over our own actions. We can choose to drive safely, we can choose to follow the rules and keep our distance, and we can choose to educate others and report unsafe behavior when we see it.

A horse choking to death on an apple is avoidable.

A horse getting into unsecured garbage cans is avoidable.

A horse getting hit by a careless driver is avoidable.

CWHF feels very strongly that we have a responsibility to keep the Corolla herd accessible; they are the state horse of North Carolina and a cultural and historical resource. They belong to all of us, and people should have the opportunity to see them in their most natural state. This means that everyone who shares space with them has a personal responsibility to help keep them safe. Habitat is more than just grass and dunes. It’s everything the horses encounter on a daily basis, and that includes us. We have to do our best to lessen any negative impact we might have on that habitat and the good news is most people who live, work, or vacation on the 4x4 do genuinely care about the horses and want to protect them. .

Bullwinkle has been the only horse to die or be removed from the wild in 2024 due to unnatural causes. That’s pretty remarkable, and means that the work we’re doing to advocate for the horses’ safety and protection is making a difference. The number of calls we’ve gotten about feeding and petting wild horses has been going down each season. The sheriff told us that our signs are working - law enforcement is seeing a difference. There are critter-proof garbage cans at most rental houses now, and we’ve gotten far fewer calls about trash this year. People are reporting bad behavior when they see it and doing their part to help educate visitors who may not know better.

It’s still hard to talk about Bullwinkle’s death. It was tragic, violent, and preventable. It was traumatic for our staff and for the people who came out to help us that night. It was a devastating loss for the critically endangered wild herd. But if sharing his story keeps other horses from meeting the same fate, then he didn’t die in vain. We will continue to talk about him even though it’s painful, and hope that like many of his storied ancestors his death will become a catalyst for positive change.

Today is #GivingTuesday, and we’d like to ask that you consider making a donation in honor of Bullwinkle. The role we all play in these horses’ lives may have changed over the decades, but people are still critically important to their long term survival here on the Northern Outer Banks. Join us today and your gift will be matched up to $40k - there’s really never been a better time to get involved. Your support has already made a noticeable, tangible difference - let’s keep the momentum going!

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

2 days ago

Don’t forget about us if you’re doing some online shopping today! Our gift shop is fully stocked with CWHF apparel, books, artwork, the official 2025 calendar, and more! Shopping with us supports a great cause - all proceeds benefit the horses. 🎁🐎

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

1 week ago

Blossom and June are enjoying the warm sunshine at the farm this morning! 🥰

Don’t forget that if you make a donation now through the end of the year it will be matched - up to $40k! Your support allows us to provide a safe, permanent home to horses like this mother/daughter pair who had to be removed from the wild herd due to life-threatening illness and injury. Every dollar genuinely makes a difference!

Get involved today: www.corollawildhorses.com/support-corolla-wild-horse-fund/#top ... See MoreSee Less

Corolla Wild Horse Fund

2 weeks ago

The Corolla Wild Horse Fund is the only place you’ll find “Butts to the Wind” logo items this holiday season! From stickers and koozies to adult apparel and beach towels, we’ve got you covered. And the best part is that all proceeds go back to the horses! As you can see, even Buster and Riptide at the farm approve.🐴🎁

Shop for gifts that give back online 24/7 at www.corollawildhorses.com/cwhf-gift-shop/.

Or swing by the CWHF Museum and Gift Shop in Historic Corolla Village Monday-Friday from 11am-3pm. 🎄 Find our location and updated store hours at www.corollawildhorses.com/contact/. ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

3 weeks ago

We spent a lot of time this week filling low spots in the pastures with topsoil and then it rained last night night and this morning. Now Buster, Brio, and Louie are having a mud wallowing competition. Who do you think won? 🤔 (The prize for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place is the same - a good brushing!)

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

3 weeks ago

Did you know that every purchase you make in our gift shop in Corolla and in our online store helps the horses? All proceeds benefit both the wild Bankers and those on our farm.

The holiday season is just around the corner and we have lots of new items in stock. Stop by and see us or shop online at corollawildhorses.org/shop. 🐴❤️ ... See MoreSee Less

Corolla Wild Horse Fund

4 weeks ago

Since Raymond passed away we’ve gotten a lot of questions about how Blossom is doing. Short answer - she’s just fine. She’s living with her daughter June now and they are both very happy.

We rescued Blossom, who is in her late 20s or maybe even 30, last fall after she tore a ligament in one of her front legs. After she was fully healed we decided to see how she and Raymond would get along with each other at the farm since they did live together in the wild. Introductions went great, and they spent almost a year happily together. We called their paddock the old folks home. 🩷 Blossom was standing in the pasture next to us when we euthanized Raymond, and we gave her plenty of time with him afterwards to say her goodbyes.

If you haven’t already, please visit Raymond’s special memorial page on our website to share your stories and photos with everyone: www.corollawildhorses.com/remembering-raymond-submissions/ ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

4 weeks ago

On the morning of Wednesday, October 30, we made the difficult but necessary decision to euthanize Raymond the mule due to a small scrotal hernia that occluded the affected loops of his small intestine.

We believe that Raymond was in his late 20s. He was the offspring of a wild Banker mare and a donkey that lived with the herd before there was a domestic livestock ordinance in place. He was actually Raymond Jr (or maybe even Raymond III) - his sire the donkey was the original Raymond. He was also known by locals as Jack, Rebel, Burrito, and probably a few other choice nicknames over the years.

Raymond spent most of his life in the wild and lived just like the horses - he had a harem of mares, raised foals (even though they weren’t biologically his - mules are sterile), and fought other stallions for territory. He had a reputation for being fierce, and most of the stallions gave him a wide berth. Because he was a hybrid, Raymond did not have all of the physical adaptations we see with the Banker horses and as a result had issues with his hooves throughout much of his life. When he was younger they would grow out and break off without any intervention, but as he got older and less active he was unable to self-trim. Late in 2017 we sedated Raymond and trimmed his feet in the field, which helped him for a while. But by the following year they had grown back out and he had become severely lame, so we made the decision to take him to the farm where we’d be able to provide him the care he needed.

We were a little worried that Raymond would have a hard time adapting to life on the farm, but he quickly showed us that we should never underestimate him. He settled right in and figured out how to wrap us around his hooves, and for the next five years our lives would revolve around him. We were able to correct many of the issues with his hooves and keep him sound and comfortable, he was put on a diet more appropriate for a mule his age, and he even agreed to being halter trained. We built him his own pasture where he didn’t have to worry about other horses challenging him (turns out he really wasn’t all that fierce, he was just very defensive) and we did our best to accommodate and indulge in all of his many quirks and idiosyncrasies. After we rescued Blossom last year she and Raymond lived together at the farm as they had in the wild, and they were both so happy to have each other’s company.

Our goal for Raymond, especially over the last year or so, was to keep him content and comfortable. We knew that should he become seriously ill there wasn’t much we could do for him due to his age, other underlying health issues, his temperament, and the fact that we could no longer safely anesthetize him. Quality of life was the most important part of his care plan, and he was definitely a very happy mule right up to the moment he passed away. It doesn’t make the loss any easier or less heartbreaking, but there is certainly a lot of comfort to be taken from that.

Finding the words that fully encapsulate Raymond’s extraordinary life and his place in our history is proving to be quite difficult. There will never be another one like him, and his death is the end of an era. He is the closing chapter on a way of life that does not exist here anymore. He was everything a Banker is supposed to be - resilient, adaptable, smart. He was truly the salt of the earth.

We will remember him fondly and miss him dearly. It’s way too quiet around here without him hollering at us.

Raymond touched so many lives and was adored by so many people. We’d like for you to help us write his eulogy by visiting this special page on our website that we’ve set up for him. Please share your memories, photographs, and condolences so that we can celebrate his life together: www.corollawildhorses.com/remembering-raymond-submissions/

Rest well, Raymond.

**Media outlets have the permission of the Corolla Wild Horse Fund to share the information and photos in this post. ... See MoreSee Less

Corolla Wild Horse Fund

4 weeks ago

This is what Fall looks like on The Northern Outer Banks! 🍂

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

1 month ago

On Thursday, October 17 when our herd management team located Flint to check on him he was noticeably more listless than he had been the last time he was seen, had increased drainage coming from both nostrils, and an odor that was indicative of a tooth infection. This is not something a horse his age, in his condition, can survive without intervention, especially going into the winter. After consulting with our veterinarian, we decided to bring Flint to the farm for x-rays since there was still a chance that we could do something to take care of the infection and then give him a safe “retirement” for the rest of his days.

(If you missed our first post about Flint you can read it here: www.facebook.com/corollawildhorses.org/posts/931410095687407)

The following day we were able to catch Flint and bring him to our farm. We administered antibiotics and painkillers, and he spent the weekend happily eating the grass that had been growing in our medical paddock all summer (much softer and easier for him to chew than hay or the rough forage in the wild). He really enjoyed getting scratches around his ears, eating as many sweet, ripe persimmons as we’d give him, and resting his old body in the sun.

On Monday our vet came over to examine him, and x-rays indicated that he had no functional teeth left - they were all cracked, broken, or entirely missing. He was also suffering from a severe sinus infection and had packed organic material where the missing teeth had been, along with inspissated purulent material. There was really nothing left to fix inside his mouth, and any attempts to do so would have just caused more damage and discomfort. Based on the state of his teeth, along with other physical characteristics, we determined he was at least in his late 30s. At that point there was no question that the best thing for Flint would be to help him pass safely and peacefully.

Flint was laid to rest in a quiet spot in the woods at the farm, next to his son Danny.

The history of the Outer Banks is told in legends - from the Lost Colony to Blackbeard to ponies in the hulls of grounded Spanish ships. The stories are woven into the fabric of what we know to be the true history - inseparable and true in their own right. There have been horses over the years whose stories have become legendary - Black Bess, Star, Little Red Man, Amadeo, Chaos, Raymond. They help us tell the history of the Banker horses and their relationship to this land, to us, and to each other. They serve as reminders of the strength, adaptability, and steadfast perseverance that has allowed this herd to flourish here for hundreds of years. They are a testament to the work that CWHF has done to protect, preserve, and responsibly manage this endangered breed.

Flint, after 40 years of life on this beach, has become a legend now too. His story certainly did not die with him; it lives on in his countless offspring and the mark he left on the herd, and in the memories of him that we will share for many, many years to come.

Rest well, Flint. It was truly an honor.

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

2 months ago

Last week we posted about Flint, an old stallion we’ve been monitoring for the last couple months as he approaches the end of his life. He is not the only older horse we’ve been keeping a close eye on recently. Yesterday we euthanized a mare named Mocha who was in her late 20s, and who, like Flint, had been slowing down and in declining body condition for the last several months.

Mocha went down sometime Monday night or early Tuesday morning and was spotted by some contractors working on a house. They did the right thing and reported it to us, and once we determined that she was definitely unable to get back up we called our vet who made the trip across the sound to humanely euthanize her. She died peacefully and quietly, and was laid to rest in a safe, secluded spot in the place that had been her home for her entire life. This is what we hope for every wild horse in the herd.

Mocha was very wild and rangy, blind in one eye, and tough as nails. She lived most of her life in the marsh and we didn’t see her too often. She was the kind of horse you feel guilty touching even after death, because she would have never wanted nor tolerated that in life. This morning there was a rainbow right over the spot where Mocha died. We’d like to think it was a thank-you for respecting her wildness and letting her live and die with the dignity she deserved, and a reminder to stay hopeful for the future of this herd.

Rest easy, Mocha.

*We’d like to thank Tab WinborneCorporation for getting our vet back and forth across the sound so quickly yesterday - we so appreciate your support and kindness during these stressful, difficult situations.

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