Wild Horses Approaching—Now What?—An Educational Update

Wild Horses Approaching—Now What?—An Educational Update

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Update as of 7:50pm, Thursday, July 2: The person who recorded the video we are referring to in this post reached out and asked us to remove it due to copyright infringement.
This video was posted on TikTok recently and has gained quite a bit of attention (understandably so). We feel a responsibility to share it and talk about why this was such a dangerous situation, and discuss the consequences that both horses and humans in this scenario could face. We’ve decided to close comments on this post because we don’t want the discourse to distract from the important message.
Our goal here is to educate people about the horses’ behavior, the risk they take when not respecting the horses’ space, and how to be better stewards of this herd. Yes, it’s against the law to approach, touch, or feed the horses. Yes, the area is patrolled by law enforcement. Yes, citations are issued. Enforcement of the wild horse ordinance is an incredibly important component of all this, but regardless of whether or not a citation is issued the damage is already done. We want to stop this kind of behavior before it ever happens, and that’s where education comes in.
The approximately 115 horses in this herd have close to 8000 acres of habitat to freely roam. It’s an 11-mile stretch of beach, and behind the dunes are thousands acres of marsh, maritime forest, coastal plain, and yes, neighborhoods. There is a growing community of year-round residents but the majority of the houses are second homes and/or vacation rentals. This area sees tens of thousands of visitors each week during the summer, and there are also local daytrippers, tradespeople, property owners and part-time residents, and all kinds of other people who access the area on a daily basis.
Whether you’ve lived here for 30 years or are visiting the area for the very first time, you have a responsibility to follow the rules that are in place to keep you and the horses safe. This isn’t a tourists vs. locals issue; we see good and bad behavior from both sides.
The foal in this video is the great-grandson of the iconic stallion Amadeo. His great-uncle was our beloved Junior. His roots run deep through this land, and our hearts as well. Just as we watched his mom grow up and anticipated the birth of her first foal, we are excited to see what life has in store for him too. He is a precious gift that deserves our utmost respect and protection – they all do.
It’s very important to us that this herd remains accessible. This is the state horse of North Carolina. They are a cultural treasure and they belong to all of us. But that also means that we all have a responsibility to protect them, respect them, and sacrifice our own egos a bit in the interest of the horses’ wellbeing. It is a great privilege that any of us get to spend time around them, and we need to treat it as such.
It’s not a lost cause. The herd is in excellent health and reproducing naturally. They have plenty of habitat available to them that provides food and cover. They can take care of themselves and they do it very well; the biggest challenges they are facing right now are the effects of human encroachment. But as overwhelming as it may feel sometimes, the good news is we have complete and total control over our own actions. This is an easy problem to fix if we all work together to be better protectors of these special horses.
If you see someone engaging in dangerous behavior or putting the horses in harm’s way, please immediately call the county non-emergency number at 252-453-3633. The ordinance can’t be enforced if infractions are not reported to law enforcement.
There are so many people who do go out of their way to be respectful of the horses and that does not go unnoticed! We have an amazing community of locals and visitors here who are fiercely protective of the herd and we absolutely could not do this work without their support. Thank you to every last one of you – it takes a village!
Now let’s get into the video…
The horse that first walks up to the child is a young mare. Her foal was born on May 31 – he is her first. This foal is already displaying signs of habituation. Foals are extremely impressionable and it’s critical that in these first few months of life they do not become too accustomed to humans. This is one of the reasons why we ask people to give them plenty of space and not encourage this kind of behavior.
The lighter colored horse with the white blaze is a young stallion who is just starting to strike out on his own, but still spends most of his time with his mom and whichever mature stallion she’s with. He’s the equivalent of a teenage boy right now; still learning manners, pushing boundaries, and gets pretty stupid around pretty girls. He is also part of the last crop of foals whose names we announced, and he is one of the reasons we’ve stopped sharing names. Because people constantly call him by his name, he will respond to it and even approach vehicles when called. This is extremely dangerous for him as well as people he comes in contact with. It’s something we’re monitoring closely and hoping does not escalate to the point where we have to remove him.
There are other horses in this group too, including the lead stallion who is protective of his mares and foal, and always keeping an eye on the younger stallion and correcting his rude teenage behavior.
These horses can’t teleport. They did not just magically appear on top of these children. They are walking calmly and slowly, and these people were surely aware of their presence long before they were this close. Of *course* we don’t think these parents would purposefully put their kids in a dangerous situation, but the fact of the matter is their lives were legitimately at risk through this entire interaction. It’s not funny or cute.
If you see horses approaching you on the beach, please move away from them. We hear “they came up to us” all the time as if that’s somehow permission to put yourself in harm’s way or harass/habituate the horses. If you choose to live here, visit here, or just spend a few hours here, it means there will sometimes be horses in your space. It is your responsibility to give them room even if that means a few minutes of inconvenience for you. If a horse walks up to you it’s not because you have a special connection with it, it’s because hundreds of other people have contributed to that horse’s habituation. Be the one who breaks that cycle.
In the video, you can see that as the younger stallion approaches, the mare’s ears go back and she moves to push her foal away from him. At any moment she could have decided to kick out at the youngster, spin to bite at him, or strike with her front legs. Those kids are right in the line of fire. Even though the aggression wouldn’t be directed at them, they could still get kicked or trampled. A full-grown stallion was recently kicked in the face so hard that it killed him instantly. It’s very likely the kick came from a mare who wasn’t being overly aggressive, she was simply saying “get away from me.”
Horses use their bodies to communicate; kicking, biting, and throwing their weight around is how they interact with each other, and it’s how they try to communicate with us too. Even a warning kick could be fatal to a human.
We are so glad that no one was hurt and we hope that some of the things we’ve talked about in this post help shed some light on why it’s so important for people to follow the rules and always be aware of their surroundings.
Again, if you witness people and/or horses in dangerous situations, please immediately call the county non-emergency number at 252-453-3633. You aren’t snitching – you may be saving a life in more ways than you can imagine.
Surfer

Rest Easy, Surfer

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We are very sad to report that yesterday morning wild stallion Surfer suffered a fatal kick to the head. His injuries were localized and consistent with a kick from another horse. There was no other trauma to the rest of his body and nothing indicative of human interference. It’s likely he wasn’t even in a serious fight with another stallion; it was an unfortunately well-placed kick that could have just as easily come from a mare.
Surfer was about 15 years old and DNA testing has identified three offspring he produced – Riptide (who lives at the farm now) and Rabbit (who is deceased) in 2019, and a colt in 2022 who is still alive in the wild. His dam Mimosa passed away in 2024 due to age-related issues, and his sire was a stallion named Tyreek who was DNA tested in 2007. On his dam’s side, Surfer’s pedigree goes all the way back to iconic stallions Little Red Man and Star.
Surfer was beloved by staff, residents, and visitors alike. He was stunningly beautiful and charismatic, and carried himself with an air of confidence that always made him stand out. He was very wild and very driven, and today we are taking great comfort in the fact that he died of natural causes without ever having human hands laid on him.
We hope that Surfer’s death serves as a reminder of how fragile life can be for these horses. Even under the best of circumstances, nature can be very unforgiving. Surfer’s genetics were invaluable to the long-term health of the herd, and now his four-year-old son is left to carry on that legacy. We can’t control nature and there’s no guarantee that he will make it into adulthood and produce foals of his own, but we can control our own actions. Please help us give this youngster – and all of the horses – the best possible chance by not habituating them, driving slowly and carefully, and being good stewards of the environment.
Rest easy, Surfer. You will be missed.
As tourism season approaches, work intensifies to preserve and protect the state’s wild horses

As tourism season approaches, work intensifies to preserve and protect the state’s wild horses

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PRE News & Ideas | By Annette Weston
Published April 23, 2026 at 10:42 AM EDT
Original article found here.

As tourism season approaches along the North Carolina coast, work intensifies to preserve and protect one of the greatest draws for visitors – the state’s wild horses. Public Radio East’s Annette Weston spoke with members of the organization that’s sole purpose is to protect the Banker horses from the greatest threat – well-meaning but unknowledgeable people.

The Banker hoses of North Carolina are wild descendants of Colonial Spanish Mustangs that have lived on the state’s barrier islands for about 500 years. While their exact arrival is debated, they are genetically confirmed to be one of the oldest and rarest horse strains in the world. Historians and geneticists point to three primary ways these horses reached the Outer Banks – shipwrecks, abandoned colonies, and English expeditions.

One herd lives in what’s known as the four-wheel drive area — an 11-mile stretch where the paved road, NC Highway 12, ends and the beach itself becomes the state road. It is the primary habitat for the Corolla wild horses.

The town of Corolla, which has population of about 1,000, swells to nearly 60,000 people during the peak tourism months, May through October, with the horses and the beaches the main attraction.

Managing the safety of the herd falls to the nonprofit Corolla Wild Horse Fund; challenges include the ever-changing nature of the barrier islands, encroaching development, and climate change. However, one of the greatest dangers is people.

“Horses are just inherently dangerous no matter where they are. I mean, whether they’re wild or in a domestic setting, I mean, they’re large, powerful, flighty animals. So, they’re dangerous,” said Meg Puckett, Director of Herd Management for the Corolla Wild Horse Fund.

She added that some visitors fail to recognize that these particular horses are far different from those at a petting zoo or a neighbor’s farm. “They’re very unpredictable. They can be standing there quietly one second and the next second, a fight breaks out, they spook, they run, you just never know. And so, I just think it’s so important for people to always keep that in mind and always just maintain a very, very healthy respect and quite frankly, a fear of these animals.

“You can certainly get hurt yourself. Kicks, bites, being run over, even being knocked into by a horse can hurt a person. You know, the horses themselves could potentially be harmed. Stress can cause all kinds of physical issues for horses, especially this time of year with foals. You know, pressure and stress and being irritated can cause mares to become very agitated. It can cause stallions to become agitated. It can cause exhaustion in foals if they’re constantly moving around to get away from people.”

Last November, a Corolla stallion named Topnotch was removed from the wild and is now living at the fund’s farm sanctuary in Grandy because he had become habituated. “And that’s when a horse just becomes so used to, so desensitized to people, to being approached by people, to being touched by people, that there’s no fear anymore,” she explained. “And so, they’re not moving away from people. And then they also may begin to approach people. And that’s when things get really dangerous.”

It’s also illegal to feed the wild horses. In 2020, a yearling colt in Corolla died a slow and painful death after someone fed it an apple, which caused it to choke. Another foal died previously after being fed a watermelon rind.

Meg said, “Anything that’s not natural can make them sick. They can colic, which is an intestinal issue. It’s upset stomach, but it can be fatal very quickly. They can choke. We’ve had horses that have been removed from the beach, but we’ve also had horses that have died after being fed things that they can’t swallow. And so, a whole apple, for example, if someone feeds a horse that, it can get lodged in their esophagus. and then they choke and they can die. So, when we say apples and carrots kill wild horses, we mean it very literally. We say that because it has happened before.”

But, by far, the biggest human-caused danger to the Banker herd comes from vehicles. Chris Winter is President and CEO of the Corolla Wild Horse Fund. He said, “Year over year, there are just more and more vehicles, and we’ve had a number of horses hit over the past two summers. So, whether you’re driving on the beach or behind the dunes, it’s really the same situation to just drive with exceptional care.”

In North Carolina, it is illegal to come within 50 feet — about the length of a large school bus — of wild horses. Violators can face civil or criminal fines, often reaching up to $500 per incident. Meg said it’s important that visitors follow that rule.

“If you stay 50 feet away, as the law states, you’re not petting, you’re not feeding, you’re not putting yourself in danger, you’re not putting the horses in danger,” she said, “And we promise it’s not going to ruin your experience. It’s probably going to make it even better because you’re watching these horses in their natural habitat doing what they do.”

In North Carolina, it is illegal to come within 50 feet -- about the length of a large school bus -- of wild horses. Violators can face civil or criminal fines, often reaching up to $500 per incident. This picture of a family approaching members of the herd was taken in July, 2025.

There has also been an unprecedented spike in reports of unleashed pets spooking, chasing, or even biting wild horses. Meg cautioned, “They will not hesitate to protect themselves and their families if a dog is chasing them. So, honestly, your dog is going to be in more danger than those horses are. But at the same time, that doesn’t mean that it’s not dangerous for the horses too. They could get hurt, you know, if it spooks them and they run, you know, all kinds of things could happen. So, yeah, it’s really important that people have their dogs under control.”

Last May, a Corolla mare was spotted with the ladder around her neck. Fortunately, she was able to free herself without intervention.

While these animals are famous for surviving centuries of hurricanes, modern environmental shifts are also creating unprecedented challenges. Some are caused by the realities of life on a barrier island. Meg said, “Barrier islands are not stable pieces of land. Everything is always moving and changing. Our coastline is shifting all the time. Water, salinity levels, I mean, there’s just so much that changes on it just naturally, and that ‘s just part of life here. And so, it’s very important that we understand how that impacts the horses, whether it’s natural or it’s human caused. And some of that we can control, some of it we can’t control.”

In North Carolina, human development is another primary threat to the wild horse herds, particularly in the northern Outer Banks. Chris said the Corolla herd shares its territory with a rapidly growing vacation community, leading to shrinking habitat and increased human-horse conflict.

He added, “As if development continues at this pace, the entire habitat where the horses live is really going to be, is going to continue to be under threat. And, potentially there’s a point in the future where, we don’t know what the outcome is because there’s simply not enough up there for everybody, whether it’s people, horses, or other animals that rely on the ecosystem in the four-wheel drive.”

A Corolla horse and foal snacking on acorns.

The Corolla Wild Horse fund is continually working with local and state officials to balance growth of the tourism industry and development alongside the need for conservation that protects the herd. The organization has used donations to buy undeveloped lots in the four-wheel drive area to prevent the construction of massive vacation homes that would otherwise block the horses’ natural movement and grazing paths. The overall goal is to create a permanent, north-to-south corridor of protected land so the horses can migrate between marshes and the ocean without being trapped by fences or residential landscaping.

While these animals are famous for surviving centuries of hurricanes, modern environmental shifts are also creating unprecedented challenges. Some are caused by the realities of life on a barrier island.

“These horses have been a part of people’s lives for a long time on the Outer Banks. They’ve been a part of residents’ lives for a long time. They’ve been a part of vacationers’ lives for a long time,” Chris said. “And people want that story to continue. We want that story to continue.”

 

Wild horses of the Outer Banks are getting their close-up this spring

Wild horses of the Outer Banks are getting their close-up this spring

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PRE News & Ideas | By Annette Weston
Published April 13, 2026 at 6:44 AM EDT

The wild horses of the Outer Banks are getting their close-up this spring. The Corolla Wild Horse Fund has announced a premiere screening for the new short-form documentary, From the Sound to the Sea.

The film follows the fund’s mission to protect North Carolina’s wild herd amid the growing pressures of tourism and coastal development.

The premiere is scheduled for Friday, May 1 at 7:00 p.m. at the historic Pioneer Theater in Manteo. The evening features a panel discussion with herd manager Meg Puckett and filmmakers from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Before the show, the fund will also host a table at Manteo’s First Friday celebration from 4:00 to to 7:00 p.m.

Tickets are available now through the Pioneer Theater website, with a portion of the proceeds directly supporting the protection of the Corolla horses.

https://thepioneertheater.com/events/

 

Topnotch

Topnotch Removed from the Wild

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This morning (Tuesday, November 25, 2025) we relocated wild stallion Topnotch to our farm sanctuary on the mainland due to habituation that resulted in him becoming food conditioned and aggressive.
Over the last several years Topnotch became increasingly resistant to being moved away from perceived food sources, and also became increasingly aggressive and confrontational towards anyone who attempted to redirect him. Associating humans with food led him to begin seeking people out, and reacting dangerously whether food was present or not.
This kind of behavior is extremely difficult to correct in a wild animal, especially when the habituation is related to food and humans. Despite repeated attempts to discourage Topnotch’s behavior, he became a serious threat to public safety. Over the last several months our herd management team, along with our board of directors and multiple concerned residents, discussed different management options. It was ultimately agreed upon that relocation would be in the best interests of the horse and the community.
While removal is always the last resort, when wild animals and humans live in close proximity to each other there is always a risk of conflict. In these cases we sometimes have to make very difficult decisions in an effort to maintain a balance between public safety and wildlife. Despite the many difficulties associated with decisions like these, we are very fortunate to have a place for horses like Topnotch to go, where they will be safe and handled with great respect for their specific needs and dispositions. We hope his story serves as a stark reminder of why it’s so important to maintain a 50ft distance from the wild horses at all times and never feed them.
Topnotch is quite advanced in age. He’d not had a harem of mares in many years, and was most often alone as is typical for a stallion his age. When he was younger he did have a large harem of mares and while we have yet to identify any offspring through DNA testing, he certainly had plenty of opportunities to leave his genetic mark on the herd.
We’d like to extend our gratitude to the residents who reached out directly to us to discuss their concerns about Topnotch’s behavior. Thank you for your willingness to have constructive conversations about this; your input was valuable and very much appreciated.
Mare foal ladder

All’s Well and Ends Well

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Well, we had another exciting morning. Let us preface all of this by saying the ladder is no longer around her neck and the mare and foal are both completely fine.
At about 10:30 this morning we received a call that there was a horse with a ladder around her neck. Three of our staff were very close by and found her immediately (she was pretty hard to miss), and several residents had also seen her and came to help. At first we thought maybe if she dropped her head down the ladder would slide off, but every time it hit the back of her ears she would understandably fling her head back up. Luckily she wasn’t all that bothered by it so at least we didn’t have to worry about her panicking and hurting herself or her foal. One of the characteristics of this breed is that they are very level-headed and not reactionary, and this mare was a good example of that today.
We spent about an hour trying to get her into a position where we could get close enough to pull it off but didn’t have any luck with that plan – she was too fast and there is just too much wide open space (this was one of the few times when that is a bad thing!). But we got lucky when she dropped her head to graze at one point and the ladder slipped down over one ear. We all held our breath and thank goodness it fell the rest of the way off. Everyone in the surrounding houses who had been watching from their decks cheered, and so did we. The ladder was retrieved and both the mare and the foal are just fine.
Just another day at the office. 😵‍💫 Sharing here on social media so that hopefully everyone who watched this happen in real time sees the update and can rest assured that all’s well that ends well. If you’ve seen pictures of this posted on other pages or groups, please share the link to this post so that people do not continue to worry!
We’d also like to thank our community for once again jumping in to help when needed. We didn’t even have to ask – you were there and ready to do whatever was necessary to help this horse and we are so grateful. Knowing that we can always count on you makes these very stressful situations a little less stressful.
If you witness a horse in danger or distress please call 252-453-3633. They will immediately notify CWHF and can also dispatch law enforcement if necessary.
Introducing Folly

Introducing Folly

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It is a dreary day here in northeastern North Carolina so we figured we’d brighten things up a little by announcing the birth of a second wild Banker foal! This filly was born on April 1 and both she and her dam are doing great. Her name is Folly.
We have been closely monitoring Folly and her dam for the last 10 days. Our vet has been consulted to make sure all seems well and we have already started a file for her in our records so that we can upload photos to keep track of her growth and development. But we try to give every foal at least a week if not longer before making any announcements about them so that they have time to bond with their families and become a little less fragile before being in the public spotlight.
This is especially important for the foals born early in the spring – winter can be taxing on the horses in general, and it can be especially difficult for a mare who was heavily pregnant during the coldest time of the year, goes through the physical trauma of giving birth, and then has to sustain a growing foal before all of the spring and summer vegetation has fully grown in. Foals can consume up to 25% of their body weight in milk every day and gain between 1-3 pounds daily. That’s a lot of calories they need from their mom! We don’t want to make it any harder on them by attracting too much attention in the first few days of the foal’s life.
Thank you for respecting the horses’ space if you are lucky enough to catch a glimpse of these newest additions. It’s an exciting time of year on the northern beaches but please also remember that mares and foals are especially vulnerable and need to be given lots of room right now.
Riptide Goes to Raleigh!

Riptide Goes to Raleigh!

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Riptide was in Raleigh and it was historic day for the Corolla Bankers!
The Corolla Wild Horse Fund was invited by the North Carolina General Assembly, on behalf of Senator Bobby Hanig and Representative Ed Goodwin, to visit the state capitol in Raleigh to raise awareness about the Corolla Bankers and the work we are doing to preserve their wild habitat and promote conservation of this endangered breed. Riptide, who was formerly wild but rescued as a yearling due to a life-threatening infection, came along to serve as an ambassador for his breed and show representatives from across the state how very special these horses are.
This is the first time our state horse has set hoof on the grounds of the capitol!
We’d like to extend our sincere gratitude to Senator Hanig and Representative Goodwin for their recognition and support, and we are looking forward to continuing working together to advocate for these horses at the state level.
Good boy, Riptide. We are so proud of you.
Announcing the first foal of 2025

Announcing the first foal of 2025

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Announcing the first foal of 2025 – a filly we’ve named Finola. She was born on St Patrick’s Day weekend so we figured she needed a good Irish name.
We know that new foals are very exciting and everyone wants to catch a glimpse of them but we are once again reminding everyone to please give them plenty of space and privacy. If we could, we would avoid posting anything for as long as possible so as not to draw too much attention to them especially when they are brand, brand new but they do live among the public so that is not something we can control. Since word is already out about this little girl we are posting today as well so that we can remind everyone about how important it is to be respectful and not cause undue stress to the foal, the mother, or any of the other horses in the harem.
Thank you for helping us protect this endangered herd and every new foal that is born into it. Every single one of them is critical to the long-term survival of these horses in the wild and with your support we are doing all that we can to ensure they have a safe, healthy habitat in which they can thrive.
Welcome to the beach, Finola!
Remembering Raymond

Remembering Raymond

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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: https://www.corollawildhorses.com/remembering-raymond…/
Rest well, Raymond.