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LATEST NEWS FROM CWHF

Corolla’s wild stallions fight over territory — in full view of summer beach crowds

June 23, 2021/by Corolla Wild Horse Fund

By Jeff Hampton Virginian-Pilot, June 23, 2021 Two stallions fight each other over territory on the Currituck County Outer Banks north of Corolla. Photo courtesy of the Corolla Wild Horse […]

Lizzie’s Rescue

June 16, 2021/by Corolla Wild Horse Fund

We had to perform a difficult rescue on Saturday, one that has been in the works for a year. After Alex was born last year, his mom Lizzie got a wound on her knee that didn’t want to heal.

Signs, signs everywhere a sign … to stay away from the wild horses

May 21, 2021/by Corolla Wild Horse Fund

OBX Today May 21, 2021 by Kari Pugh An anonymous donor had 20 signs made to place along the dunes. [CWHF photo] As another summer season gets underway, an anonymous […]

6 hours ago

Great article on CWHF's work with DNA and breed conservation in the current issue of North Beach Sun!

Grab a physical copy off newsstands across the beach or read the digital version here: issuu.com/northbeachsun/docs/north_beach_sun_summer_2025 The article is on pages 47-48.

🧬🐴🔬 ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

3 days ago

A week ago today, Friday July 4, at approximately 9pm, witnesses reported seeing a pickup truck traveling at a high speed strike a horse on Ocean Pearl Road in Carova. Witnesses said the horse fell to the ground, but then got up and ran off into the brush. The driver of the truck did not stop. Law enforcement was called and deputies responded to the scene. The horse that was struck could not be located again that night.

Residents who witnessed the incident were able to give us a good description of the horses that had been in the area that night, and based on that we were able to narrow down the list of possible victims. Early Saturday morning our herd management team began searching for the potentially injured horse. By around noon on Saturday we had located thirteen of the stallions we believed could have been struck, and all were in fine condition with no visible injuries. We continued looking for the last two horses on our list, and around 1:30pm one of the people who witnessed the incident called to let us know there was a stallion in their yard who they believed may have been involved. Upon inspection, the stallion was indeed moving stiffly and did have a very swollen shoulder. He was not limping, did not have any open wounds, and overall seemed sore but fine. We took photographs to send to our vet and continued looking for the last horse on our list just to confirm he was ok, but we were unable to locate him Saturday or Sunday.

On Monday morning, our staff was able to locate the remaining horse and he had no visible injuries and was completely sound, so we are relatively confident that the stallion with the swollen shoulder was the horse who had been struck. We’ve been monitoring him as closely as possible this week and he has been improving. The swelling in his shoulder has gone down and he is moving and behaving normally; there is no indication that he has any internal injuries. There remains a small chance that he was not actually the horse who was struck, but at this point we have seen every stallion who normally lives in this 2-3 mile radius and he is the only one with injuries consistent with blunt force trauma.

He was extremely lucky. In the last ten years, eight horses have been struck by vehicles and he is only the second one to have survived. The odds are not in the horses’ favor and it’s highly likely that if you hit a horse, you are going to kill it. Please slow down and drive responsibly. In most of these cases speed and/or alcohol were involved and there is just absolutely no excuse for it. This disrespectful, dangerous behavior is causing irreparable damage to the herd and putting all other wildlife and people at risk too.

We’d like to remind everyone that it is against the county ordinance to injure a wild horse and not report it. It’s worth noting that the person who hit the horse on the beach a few weeks ago at least had the decency to stop, report the collision, and accept the consequences of their actions. If you are involved with or witness an emergency with a horse, please immediately call 252-453-3633 so that law enforcement can be dispatched and CWHF notified. We are on-call 24/7, 365, and time is of the essence in these cases. Leaving a horse to suffer is unimaginably cruel.

Our most sincere gratitude goes out to the residents who reported the collision and helped us with identifying the horse who was struck. Thank you for being such great stewards of the herd, and so supportive of our work. We’d also like to thank the telecommunicators at Currituck County Emergency Management for always being so kind and helpful in the midst of these horrific situations.

We’re so glad we didn’t have to bury another horse on Saturday, but the next time the phone rings in the middle of the night we probably won’t be so lucky. Please slow down and be careful.

If you have any information about this incident, please reach out to the Currituck County sheriff’s department: 252-453-3633 ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

4 days ago

We’ve been getting a lot of calls and messages over the last week about one of the wild horses who has a very noticeable situation going on with her eye. We’ve been monitoring her very closely for the last couple months and her condition hasn’t changed much overall, but we understand that for visitors seeing it for the first time it could be very alarming. So, this afternoon we just wanted to provide some insight into the situation and background on the mare.

While we do not have an exact date of birth for this mare, we know that she is quite old. We’ve got photographs of her with foals dating back to the early 2000s, so we believe that she was probably born in the mid-late 90s. She’s quite aged. About four years ago she lost her left eye, most likely due to some kind of injury but we were curious to know if genetics had anything to do with it. We had her, along with several other horses she was related to, tested for inherited eye diseases since they all had either poor vision or missing eyes as well. Luckily nothing came up, so it was just a coincidence. She adapted just fine to only having vision on one side and we saw no change in her behavior or body condition.

We did not see this mare or her stallion over this past winter, and then when they first came back out onto the beach in April we noticed quite a bit of granulated tissue had developed in the empty eye socket. She was behaving normally otherwise and her body condition was typical of an old horse coming out of the winter. Our vet recommended monitoring her very closely for a few days before making any decisions about intervention, and during that time we observed her eating, drinking, moving around unencumbered, and interacting with the other horses in her group like normal. She did not meet the criteria for intervention then, and still does not now. She has gained quite a bit of weight over the last couple of months and continues to behave normally.

Our staff generally sees this mare every day so we are able to keep good track of any changes to the tissue or her body condition, and our vet is updated regularly. While this is not currently a life-threatening condition, should things deteriorate to the point where the mare is unable to eat, drink, or keep up with her group, we will certainly intervene under the direction of our veterinarian. This would most likely be to humanely euthanize her, so as long as she’s behaving normally we will let her live out the rest of her days as an old, wild horse should.

Thank you to everyone who has reached out in concern about her - we appreciate our wonderful community of residents and visitors who are always helping us keep watch over the horses.

(She’s the horse in the middle. Stallion on left, unrelated yearling laying down.) ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

4 days ago

UPDATE: We are unfortunately going to have to stay closed for the remainder of the day. You can always shop online: www.corollawildhorses.com/cwhf-gift-shop/

Sorry again for any inconvenience this may cause!

📣IMPORTANT! Our museum and gift shop in Corolla is temporarily closed this morning due to some emergency repairs to the building. We hope to be able to open up by noon, but please call ahead to check before you head over - 252-453-8002. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause!sc ... See MoreSee Less

UPDATE: We are unfortunately going to have to stay closed for the remainder of the day. You can always shop online: https://www.corollawildhorses.com/cwhf-gift-shop/

Sorry again for any inconvenience this may cause!

📣IMPORTANT! Our museum and gift shop in Corolla is temporarily closed this morning due to some emergency repairs to the building. We hope to be able to open up by noon, but please call ahead to check before you head over - 252-453-8002. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause!sc

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

6 days ago

The fans have come in and we were busy installing them today! None of the boxes showed up with gift receipts so we can’t thank everyone who sent one personally, but please know they made it and they’re perfect. Thank you so much!

Riptide and Squirt were enjoying the breeze while they had a special lunchtime snack of alfalfa (which may or may not have been a bribe to get them to come inside for social media content…not that they’re complaining about it though! 😉)

Come see these guys and the rest of the crew at open house tomorrow. More info: www.facebook.com/share/19HTkMr2QG/?mibextid=wwXIfr ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

1 week ago

Happy 4th of July!

Please celebrate safely and responsibly so that no horse loses their freedom this holiday weekend.

www.corollawildhorses.org ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

2 weeks ago

We’re excited to share that almost all of our gift shop inventory is now available online and ready to ship nationwide! That means whether you're at the beach, the lake, or just dreaming of Corolla, you can shop your favorite items and support the Banker horses from wherever you are.

Every purchase you make—whether it’s a Butts to the Wind beach towel, a fun koozie for your favorite drink, or one of our sturdy horse tumblers—goes directly to the care and preservation of the wild and rescued Banker horses of Corolla. We are the only place where 100% of profits go back to the herd.

We are grateful for your continued support. These horses depend on all of us, and you’re making a difference with every order.

Shop now, spread the word, and take a piece of Corolla with you wherever you go!

www.corollawildhorses.com/cwhf-gift-shop/ ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

2 weeks ago

The Bankers are unique from any other type of horse in the world because of the adaptations they've developed over the centuries that allow them to survive here on these barrier islands. They are intrinsically tied to our coastal landscape, our culture, and our history.

Without this land, there would be no Banker horse. It is such a special place. We are committed to keeping them wild and free here for many more generations to come, and we invite you to join us: www.corollawildhorses.com/support-corolla-wild-horse-fund/

Photos taken during our aerial survey 6/24/2025 - thanks for the great flight, Coastal Helicopters, LLC! ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

2 weeks ago

Opening at 10:00 - please come early! We will probably shut things down at noon so that we can clean up, take care of the horses, and get our staff home before the storms roll in. Hate to turn people away but safety first. So we hope to see you right at 10!As of right now, open house at the farm is still on for tomorrow. However, if there is thunder and lightning in the morning we will cancel so please check before heading over. We will post an update here ASAP if anything changes.

We’re really excited to have Middleton Clay Project coming tomorrow with the portable kiln! They’ll be doing live demonstrations and will have a Riptide pot and a Louie pot to raffle off. 🤩

Gates open at 10am and it’s likely we’ll have to close things down before 2pm because of the weather, so come early!

More info: www.facebook.com/share/19TTL95xUd/?mibextid=wwXIfr ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

2 weeks ago

As of right now, open house at the farm is still on for tomorrow. However, if there is thunder and lightning in the morning we will cancel so please check before heading over. We will post an update here ASAP if anything changes.

We’re really excited to have Middleton Clay Project coming tomorrow with the portable kiln! They’ll be doing live demonstrations and will have a Riptide pot and a Louie pot to raffle off. 🤩

Gates open at 10am and it’s likely we’ll have to close things down before 2pm because of the weather, so come early!

More info: www.facebook.com/share/19TTL95xUd/?mibextid=wwXIfr ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

2 weeks ago

We are closely watching the forecast for Wednesday. There is a chance of storms but as of right now we plan on being open for the regular hours of 10am-2pm. However, if there is thunder and lightning we will shut things down and clear the property so please be aware of that and check here for a status update if the weather is iffy. We will post immediately if we have to close down or change the hours so please double check before heading over! ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

2 weeks ago

Update: We think we are covered! It's a little hard to tell because Amazon is being really weird about our shipping address but based on comments and a few texts we are pretty sure we have 8 fans heading our way now. Thank you all SO MUCH!! Removing the link from this post so that we don't end up with 30 fans but if we find that we need a couple more next week we will post again. 💜

*****

It's hot and it doesn't look like we'll be seeing relief any time soon. Our rescue farm is home to quite a few elderly horses, and this relentless heat is really hard on them. Everyone who will tolerate it gets cool showers a few times a day, and we have fans set up in every barn that has electricity.

[Link to wishlist removed because it's been fulfilled! Thank you!]

We thank you for your support and the horses REALLY thank you!

The wishlist should be set up to ship directly to the farm but in case the address doesn't autofill when you go to check out, it's: 102 Young Rider Lane, Grandy, NC 27939 AND if for some reason it tells you they can't deliver there try the office: 1130E Corolla Village Rd, Corolla NC 27927 (Amazon really has a hard time with this for some reason) ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

3 weeks ago

🗣️ ICYMI - hours for today’s farm open house are 9am-12pm

We are adjusting the hours of today’s farm open house due to the extreme heat. We will open an hour earlier at 9am and will be closing the gates promptly at noon. Please come early!

More info about the event: www.facebook.com/share/15f8aP99Q7/?mibextid=wwXIfr ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

3 weeks ago

‼️IMPORTANT‼️

We have decided to adjust the hours of tomorrow’s open house to 9am-12pm. If you are planning on coming, please get here early! We do not want to risk anyone getting overheated and sick. It’s brutal out here.

So - open house is still on for tomorrow but from 9am-12pm. We will be closing the gates promptly at noon so please come early! ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund is with Coastal Helicopters, LLC.

3 weeks ago

If you’re up on the 4x4 this morning you may see us in the helicopter - we are doing an aerial survey of the area today.

We do this several times a year to get a good look at all of the areas that are hard or impossible to access by vehicle. Our herd count is something that we keep track of all year long from the ground, but going up in the helicopter gives us an opportunity to look for horses that live in the marsh who we don’t see very often. It’s also really helpful to get a bird’s eye view of the habitat during different seasons. We fly south to north, in a grid pattern, so if you see us, be sure to wave!

If you’d like to help with our efforts to protect and preserve this land so that the Banker horses will continue to thrive here, check out our Habitat Preservation Initiative: www.corollawildhorses.com/habitat-preservation-initiative/

Here are some photos taken over the years during these aerial surveys. The horses have about 7600 acres of habitat, much of which is uninhabited marsh and maritime forest. The most beautiful place on earth, if we do say so ourselves. 😉 ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

3 weeks ago

UPDATED HOURS: 9am-12pm - gates closing promptly at noon due to excessive heat. Please come early!

It’s is going to be extremely hot on Wednesday but as of right now we do still plan on having the farm open house. If you’re coming, please be prepared for the heat. It might not be the best day to bring your infant or your grandmother. 😉

If for some reason we do decide to cancel, we will post that announcement here ASAP so double check before you head to Grandy or give our office a call at 252-453-8002.

More info about the event: www.facebook.com/share/1BDqnXMVvm/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Hope everyone is staying hydrated like Riptide and Louie are! ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

4 weeks ago

One of the most commen questions we get asked during the summer is where do the horses find fresh water? Horses can consume between 5-15 gallons of water per day, and they definitely can’t drink the salty ocean water!

The horses here on the northern Outer Banks are lucky because they live on the Currituck Sound - one of the few sounds on the East Coast that isn’t primarily saltwater. In addition to the sound, there are areas where rainwater collects to create natural watering holes that ebb and flow with the amount of precipitation we get. Water makes up a significant portion of the horses’ habitat.

The heat index was around 100° today but the horses took it in stride (as they do with most things). They spend their time alternating between standing on the beach where it’s cooler, grazing behind the dunes, and resting in the shade. It’s important that they can move about freely without expending too much extra energy, so please give them plenty of space! ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

4 weeks ago

The contest is almost over! Keep voting!

Wanted to share this note from Sharon:

Update on the finals for the photo contest and charitable donation for the horses.

We are currently in 12th place out of 100 photographs, and it all ends Thursday at 10 p.m. If you can vote and haven't please do, it still could make a difference!! Once the finals began on Monday we went from 27th place to 12th by Tuesday! So it’s still possible, but I want everyone to know that regardless of the outcome, I am thankful that more awareness has been brought to the CWHF, the horses, and how much they need support. I had several people come to me and suggest I enter this photo in this contest, I hesitated, but once seeing the charitable donation amount possible, I thought it could help in a big way!

Again, I thank everyone for your time, win or not, I believe it was worth the effort!!💗

Thank you SO much for your support and generosity, Sharon, and big thanks to everyone who has been voting every day! 🐎🩵 ... See MoreSee Less

Like this photo? Vote now!

americasfavoritephotos.com

America’s Favorite Photos: Discover your new favorite photos!

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

4 weeks ago

Check out these really cool mugs from Middleton Clay Project! They are infused with hair belonging to the horses that live on our farm sanctuary. Each piece is one-of-a-kind, and part of the proceeds come right back to help the horses.

Be sure to mark your calendars for Wednesday, July 2 when Mike will be at our open house with his portable kiln doing live demonstrations.

Shop local, support a local artist, and help the horses too! Click on the link below to order a mug, and while you’re on the website be sure to look at all the rest of the pottery that’s available. 🐎 ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

4 weeks ago

The next couple days are going to be extremely hot, with the heat index approaching 100+ degrees. Heat can be very dangerous for horses - especially foals and older horses.

Please use extra caution around them during this heat wave. Being stressed and irritated by crowding can cause the horses to move around more than they naturally would when it’s hot like this, and that can lead to serious health concerns and even death. If you see horses on the beach, remember they are down there to cool off just like you are. Give them lots of space and don’t push them into moving away from you.

If the heat is keeping you off the beach tomorrow, consider making a trip to Grandy instead! Our farm open house is from 10am-2pm and while it will still be very hot, there is lots of shade and usually a nice breeze. You can meet all of the rescued Banker horses and chat with our staff about how we care for the herd there and in the wild. Our gift shop will be open and you can sponsor any of the horses on the farm - all proceeds help us maintain the farm and care for the horses that live there.

More information about Mustang Mornings: www.facebook.com/share/15uVefiQ5y/?mibextid= ... See MoreSee Less

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LATEST NEWS FROM CWHF

Corolla’s wild stallions fight over territory — in full view of summer beach crowds

Lizzie’s Rescue

Signs, signs everywhere a sign … to stay away from the wild horses

PRESS COVERAGE

DECEMBER 2023 – Daisy, Wild and Free

NOVEMBER 2023 – Legendary Horses

OCTOBER 2023 – Currituck County / CWHF Land Initiative

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News

LATEST NEWS FROM CWHF

PRESS COVERAGE

DECEMBER 2023 – Daisy, Wild and Free

NOVEMBER 2023 – Legendary Horses

OCTOBER 2023 – Currituck County / CWHF Land Initiative

CWHF PRESS RELEASES

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