Corolla Wild Horse Fund

1 week ago

What is that green stuff on the ground?? 👀🌱 This might be the first week since November that we don’t have to put hay out for everyone because they still have plenty left from last week. A light at the end of the tunnel! ☀️

Come see the horses on the farm at our spring open house on April 18 from 9am-1pm. More info on our website: www.corollawildhorses.org ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

2 weeks ago

Today started off warm and sunny but this afternoon a fog rolled in and it got cloudy, cold, and damp. These pictures were only taken about an hour apart! You know what they say about the weather in northeastern North Carolina… ☀️🌩️💨☔️ ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

2 weeks ago

Our last foal of 2025, born on Christmas, with his 2-year-old brother today. ☀️

Horses live in family groups and form strong bonds with each other. These relationships are vital to the horses’ wellbeing. Healthy herd dynamics = healthy horses!

This is one of the many reasons why it’s important for humans to give the horses plenty of space, especially during foaling season. Pressure and stress can cause unrest that results in aggression, separation, rejection, and exhaustion, just to name a few things. Watch from a distance so these young ones can grow up wild and free!

These photos were taken through the binocular lens. ... See MoreSee Less

Corolla Wild Horse Fund

2 weeks ago

This morning we collected DNA from three horses - two stallions and an older mare. Our goal is to collect DNA from every individual, but when we head out to dart we do have a “priority list” of horses we’re looking for. These include horses who are actively breeding and producing offspring, horses we believe may be the missing link in incomplete pedigrees, and aged horses. Today we checked off all three of those boxes! You never know if you’re going to find the particular horses you’re looking for, so it was a very successful day. 🧬

We collect DNA from the wild horses with a dart gun, using darts that are specifically made for this purpose. The dart hits the horse in the fleshy part of the hip and pops right back out with a tiny plug of tissue and hair on the end of it. Once the horse moves away, we pick up the dart, unscrew the top, take the tissue and hair off the needle, put it in a vial of stabilizing solution, and then it’s sent to the lab. In a couple weeks we’ll get the markers back and can start building these three horses’ pedigrees (and hopefully complete a few others!).

If you’d like to learn more about why DNA is important and how it helps us better protect and manage the herd, these posts provide some good examples:

www.facebook.com/share/p/1DR6Ba6ySq/

www.facebook.com/share/p/18QZHRn4XN/

www.facebook.com/share/p/1CjnL74buH/ ... See MoreSee Less

Corolla Wild Horse Fund

3 weeks ago

We’ve been busy this week getting ready for the upcoming season - staff meetings, planning sessions, stocking the store, vehicle maintenance, cleaning…all the things we won’t have time to do once summer starts! Here are some photos of the herd taken by our staff over the last couple weeks. It’s been chilly and damp but we’ve had a few warm days that have hinted at spring. It will be here before we know it! ☀️ ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

4 weeks ago

Yesterday evening we gathered at the farm to celebrate the Lunar New Year and usher in the year of the fire horse. One of our staff wrote and shared these words with us, and we were so moved that we wanted to share them with you too.

May this be the kind of energy that we all take into 2026! 🐎 ... See MoreSee Less

Corolla Wild Horse Fund

1 month ago

A mare so special she has her own holiday - Valentine!

Valentine was born in 2011 and relocated to our farm, along with stallion Arrow, in 2021 due to extreme habituation. They were unfortunately fed by humans frequently enough that they began to approach vehicles, houses, and people on foot in an increasingly aggressive manner. Despite efforts to correct the behavior, we eventually had to make the difficult decision to remove both horses from the wild after a credible threat was made against their safety. Having to remove a horse for habituation is perhaps the most devastating reason for intervention. It is completely preventable if people simply follow the rules that are in place and clearly posted throughout the horses’ habitat.

But that’s not the end of Valentine’s story. She now serves an incredibly important role on the farm as an ambassador for her wild counterparts and a living, breathing example of why our work - and your support - is so important to the survival of this endangered breed. When people come to visit and have a chance to hear Valentine’s story while they’re petting her, watching her graze with her friends, or painting (one her favorite things to do!), it makes a huge impact. People leave with a newfound admiration and appreciation for these special horses, a better understanding of why it’s so important that we all work together to keep the wild herd safe and healthy, and why our farm is such a critical part of our overall mission.

Protect what you love. 💘

At the farm, Valentine shares boss mare duties with her sister Virginia Dare. They are inseparable and a force to be reckoned with! She loves open house days and can usually be found standing guard at the gate so she gets the most attention from visitors. Valentine is friendly and smart, and always eager to learn new things. But she demands respect and working with her is very much a partnership; getting nipped by her because you so very rudely touched her in the wrong place is kind of a rite of passage around here. 😉 But this is how it should be with a boss mare! It’s one of the many reasons why we love her.

Sponsoring Valentine not only helps us provide the best care, training, and feed for her but also supports all of the education and advocacy we do at the farm. Instead of buying chocolates or flowers that are going to be tossed out in a day or two, consider giving your sweetheart a real Valentine this year!

More info: www.corollawildhorses.com/horse-sponsorships/ ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

1 month ago

It was a beautiful, sunny day on The Northern Outer Banks!

Our Field Steward observed and recorded 41 horses today. You can see a mare and her two-year-old colt eating acorns in the first photo; the next photo is of her six-week-old colt watching them. At one point the older colt was also play-fighting with the harem stallion. These are great examples of why healthy herd dynamics are such an important part of the horses' survival in the wild. They're born with the instincts they need, but the generational knowledge that is passed down by older members of the herd teaches the youngsters how to put those instincts to good use.

The most commonly observed behavior today (and most days, for that matter!) was eating. In addition to acorns, our staff saw the horses consuming various types of grass, including aquatic vegetation, and several types of shrubs. Yum! 🌳🌾🍂 ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

1 month ago

We are accepting entries for the 2027 CWHF calendar contest until March 15th! You can read the contest rules and submit your entries here: www.corollawildhorses.com/calendarcontest/

Some important things to know:

📸Phone pictures will not be considered; they are unfortunately not high-resolution enough.

📸Landscape/horizontal orientation works best. Sometimes our graphic designer can edit vertical photos to make them fit but not always.

Attached are some of our favorites from years past. We can't wait to see what comes in this year! We hope to have the 2027 calendar printed and ready sometime in April. ... See MoreSee Less

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