The wild horses of Corolla island

We had decided a long time ago that if we were going near North Carolina’s Corolla Island, we would go see the wild horses.

Let me give you a bit of history concerning these horses. As early as 1528, Spanish ships’ logs document horses being pushed overboard to refloat grounded ships; some swam ashore from shipwrecks, and some were left behind when colonies failed. The herd was inspected in 2007 and were declared Colonial Spanish Mustangs eligible for registration. Skeletal evidence as well as DNA studies have strengthened these findings. An interesting note here: these horses are missing one rib and one vertebra compared to any other horses in the world which gives them a compact body.

Corolla Island is actually a peninsula with only one road: highway 12. But highway 12 is actually the beach! It’s a formal highway with signs, etc. but it is tracks on the beach. When the tide is high the road disappears. People who live there must always have provisions for 1 to 2 weeks as they never know when the road might not be usable.

The first beach is called Swan Beach and the houses there are mostly cottages and seem to be planted here and there beyond the sand dunes without any real roads. There are wooden steps to go over the dunes so I figured that the house owners must have to park their car on the beach and walk home. The next beach is Corolla Beach and there are more houses there and more year round habitants. A sand road goes into the house development and from there several roads, all sand, lead to different areas. Each house has its own well and sceptic system which is normally covered with grass to keep it from being exposed. Horses eat grass. So guess what? That’s where they hang out a lot. We could spot manure piles everywhere on the properties. If you don’t like horses, don’t live there.

No one is allowed to approach these horses, touch them or feed them in order to keep them wild. The horses are used to seeing cars and people so are quite calm but they are still wild.

Our ride to go there was the back of a truck equipped with benches on each side of the box and a canopy. It was a lovely warm day but when we got to be ocean side it got quite cool! It was very windy and the waves were big and loud. The ride itself is quite a thrill as the truck bounces along the tracks left in the sand. In some areas the truck had to go into the water. In the summer, when it’s quite busy, the vehicles park in the middle of the beach and traffic is allowed on each side dodging running children and dogs. Not a kid friendly beach!

Most houses we saw in the Outer Banks are built on stilts and are of various beachy colours. We enjoyed seeing the change of scenery from Virginia to North Carolina. The trees closer to the ocean are low and wide as compared to the very tall trees we see every day at the campground.

Being in an open truck I could fully appreciate the ocean air. There is something very special about sea air as I find I breathe more deeply and better. Even though the ocean scares me just thinking of how large and deep it is and of all the creatures in it (sharks in particular – I should have never seen the movie “Jaws”) I love being near it. The roar of the waves and the constant breeze are invigorating.


We didn’t see many horses, only small herds of three or four. They were all nice and fat. They have 8,000 acres to roam so it’s hard for the guide to know where they are. There aren’t any burrs there as their manes and tails were flowing free. At the last count there was 83 horses including this year’s foals. The group before us saw the most recent foal which was a late addition to the herd. We only saw mares, not even a stallion. We joked that it must be Glen’s fault as when Glen and I went to the Everglades in Florida last year we didn’t see a single alligator. The other couple with us laughed but they secretly must have wished for him to fall off the truck so they could see more horses.

To say that the tour was as advertised would be wrong. The pictures on their website are of horses on the beach. In fact, all their brochures and written material show pictures of horses on the beach with the ocean behind. Why would horses go on the beach anyway? There is no grass, the water is salted so not good to drink and they are totally exposed to the elements. I think they herded them on the beach for a photoshoot. It was still worth it even if it was just to see that area which is so different from normal house developments. We did meet a woman who lives on Swan Beach year round and she just loves it. It’s a way of life just like us living in our trailer. Different strokes for different folks!

The tour we took is given by the Corolla Wild Horse Fund and all profits go to the horses. They have a herd manager who inspects the herd every day and any horse that is sick or badly wounded is taken out to a rescue center where it gets proper treatment. Those horses are not reintroduced to the herd as they have been exposed to other animals who could have viruses or germs that the herd never encountered which could be a threat to the whole herd. So once better, the Fund finds them good homes. There is a small adoption fee of around $500. We were glad to contribute to this fund by taking the tour.