Corolla Wild Horse Fund

2 days 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

4 days 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

7 days 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

2 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

3 weeks 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

3 weeks 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

4 weeks 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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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

4 weeks ago

Lots of folks have been asking about how the December foal did during last weekend's winter weather, and as you can see from these photos our staff snapped earlier today he's doing just fine! He was out and about with his mom, big brother, and the rest of the harem soaking up the sunshine. ☀️ ... See MoreSee Less

Corolla Wild Horse Fund

4 weeks ago

The fall of 2025 was a bit of a blur between rescuing JW, preparing for Topnotch’s relocation, several unexpected infrastructure issues at the farm, and all the regular day-to-day things that keep us busy. Oh, and not to mention the holidays. 🤪 In the midst of all that we welcomed two new horses to the farm, and now that they are settled in we want to introduce them to everyone!

At the end of October we received word of a Corolla Banker, originally removed from the wild and adopted out in the early 2000s, who was in need of rehoming. Our policy is that we will take back any horse we’ve adopted out, no questions asked. Every Corolla Banker has a home with us for life but Porter was either sold or given away without our knowledge. After being passed around to a few different homes Porter, along with his companion, a 25 year old Arabian named Stella, ended up with a local family who loved them dearly. Unfortunately, due to neglect that happened prior to them bringing him home, his front hooves were overgrown and poorly balanced, and he was suffering from chronic abscesses. The family did all they could to correct Porter’s hoof issues but despite their best efforts they recognized that he required more care than they could provide.

One of their concerns about surrendering Porter back to us was that once he left their farm, Stella would be alone. She is a very sweet mare, but was not handled much over the course of her life and has some quirks that are best suited for very experienced handlers. She very much needed to be with a rescue capable of meeting her needs. While it’s not generally our policy to take in non-Bankers, in this case we made an exception because we believed it was what was best for Stella and for the family who was desperate to find her a good home.

So, on November 2 we loaded both horses up (only the second time in her life that Stella had ever been on a trailer!) and brought them home.

The first order of business once the horses were on our farm was to make an appointment with our vet to come do a physical exam and get them up to date on vaccinations. We also took x-rays of Porter’s hooves so our farrier and vet could come up with a plan to get them healthy again. Luckily the x-rays did not show any permanent damage or laminitic changes, just lots of abscess tracks and holes. We started a daily hoof care regime of trimming, soaking, packing, and wrapping to help keep bacteria out of the abscesses and encourage healthy new growth. It will probably take at least a year for Porter’s hooves to recover from the trauma he endured, but he is well on his way to recovery now, and has stayed remarkably sound throughout this entire process.

Porter spent most of his life in a lesson program where he taught both kids and adults riding and horsemanship. He is saddle trained and has tons of trail riding miles; he loves kids, he’s very laid-back and friendly, safe, and reliable. Here at the farm he shares a pasture with Louie (his nephew!) and Riptide. Porter’s sire is still alive in the wild. His dam is deceased, but her DNA was collected in 2007 so we already had it on file.

It took us a little longer to get Stella settled in; we hoped she would assimilate into the big field with the rest of the mares but that many horses and so much space overwhelmed her. We eventually found the perfect pasturemates for her with Dewey and Dudley. They are all about the same age, have similar dietary requirements, and their personalities are similar too. Dewey and Stella have become especially close, and it’s been really nice to see old Dewey with a pep in his step now that he’s got a very fancy lady to look after. She’s keeping both of them on their toes which is great enrichment and exercise for them, and they are providing her with the emotional support she needs to feel comfortable here. For right now our main goal for Stella is to let her decompress, gain a little weight, and learn that she’s got a good, stable home here with us.

We will share more about Stella and Porter in the coming weeks and will start to include them in our regular farm updates now that they’ve been officially introduced. Our spring open house is scheduled for April 18 - that will be your first chance to meet them in person so mark your calendars now!

You can also sponsor either horse and help us cover the cost of feed, veterinary care, hoof care, and training: www.corollawildhorses.com/horse-sponsorships/ ... See MoreSee Less

Corolla Wild Horse Fund

4 weeks ago

We’ve gotten a few calls in the last day from people who were very upset about new AI images circulating that depict the horses in unsafe, dangerous situations. While we understand how unsettling it can be to see images like this, we’d like to remind everyone to please check your sources before jumping to conclusions. This page and our Instagram are the only places you will find official, accurate updates about the Corolla horses. Never hesitate to call if you’re concerned, but also know that you can check here for updates too.

We encourage everyone to read this very informative and thought provoking article from the Sedgwick County Zoo about AI animal content: scz.org/blog/the-reality-of-ai-animal-content?fbclid=IwY2xjawPweG5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZB...

So how about a real update on the wild horses? They’re fine! They took this weekend's bad weather in stride as they always do. The majority of the snow has melted, and the rest will probably be gone after we get rain overnight. The horses who were out and about today were doing what they do best - eating and enjoying each others’ company! Just another day in the life of a wild horse. 🐎

All photos taken today. ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

1 month ago

We’re thawing out! Thankfully we didn’t quite get as much snow as they were predicting, but the wind was pretty brutal Saturday night. The sun came out early yesterday, though, and the snow started melting even though it never got above freezing. Today it melted even more, and tomorrow it’s supposed to get up to 40°. 🥳

The wild horses have been scarce, laying low in the live oak hammocks where there’s food and protection from the wind. The tides did a number on the beach yesterday and this morning, but that doesn’t impact the horses - just us humans.

All of the farm horses did fine through the storm and were soaking up the sunshine today. We’ve got some pretty crazy snow drifts in places, but most of the pastures were relatively clear by the end of the day. The biggest issue we’re dealing with right now is no water in the farm house; we’re hoping it thaws out tomorrow but if not we’ll put a call into the plumber.

So, we can check “wintertime hurricane” off our 2026 bingo card and fast forward to spring now, right? 🏖️☀️👙 ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

1 month ago

It’s snowing in Currituck! The horses at the farm are taking everything in stride so far. ☃️

A few people have asked how they can help us feed and care for the rescue horses during this winter weather. Make a donation through our website, and you can choose to designate it to the farm: www.corollawildhorses.com/one-time-donations/

Thank you for the support! Having a barn full of hay during weather like this is huge comfort. 🥰 ... See MoreSee Less