Corolla Wild Horse Fund

5 days ago

There are just a few hours left to get your ticket(s) for a chance to win this one-of-a-kind pottery piece made with horsehair from Blossom, Amadeo, and their son Junior!

www.corollawildhorses.com/shop/raffle/

Middleton Clay Project shared this clip with us where you can see their process of burning the horsehair onto the pot resulting in a completely unique piece.

Raffle closes today (2/14) at 5:00 PM EST!

We will process the entries and contact the winner on Monday February 17th. Once we've communicated with the winner, we will make an announcement on our social media accounts. ... See MoreSee Less

Corolla Wild Horse Fund

6 days ago

Our Valentine’s Day raffle ends tomorrow at noon, so grab your tickets now if you haven’t already! 💘 You’ll be entered to win a one-of-a-kind pot made out of local clay and infused with hair from Amadeo, Blossom, and their son Junior. Generously donated by Middleton Clay Project - all proceeds benefit CWHF!

Link to purchase tickets in the comments ⬇️ ... See MoreSee Less

Corolla Wild Horse Fund

2 weeks ago

We’ve been spending a lot of time this winter working on our DNA project, and to date we have 166 records on file - 122 partial pedigrees and 44 full pedigrees. A full pedigree means that we’ve identified both the sire (father) and dam (mother) of a horse and it has been verified by the geneticist. In order to be verified we have to find both the mother and father, and they have to match up with the offspring together. Often we’ll have a list of horses that qualify as either the father or mother individually, but not when paired together. There are a lot of pieces to the puzzle!

We have decades of photographs on file that help us narrow down who might be related to who, but even then you can’t assume anything until the DNA confirms it. This is always true with sires - there’s no way to know for sure who a horse’s father is without DNA. A stallion may breed a mare and then she gets stolen, so you can’t assume the stallion she’s with when the foal is born is the father. Maternal relationships are a little easier but not always, and today we came across a great example of that.

Bonita is one of the 44 full pedigrees we have on file - her parents have been verified to be Taka and Tyrone/Buddy (some of the horses have multiple names). We actually have photos of Taka giving birth to Bonita, so we were always pretty sure she was her dam but you never know - horses have similar markings, they change colors as they grow, etc. etc. Once we identified Tyrone/Buddy as a possible sire, we sent it off to the lab for verification and got confirmation that they were indeed Bonita’s parents. Both of them are still wild (though quite old) and Bonita now lives at the rescue farm.

While scrolling through some old files this morning we came across a photo of Bonita nursing from a mare that is definitely not Taka. If we’d seen this photo before we had their DNA samples on file we probably would have assumed that the bay mare was her mother. This is a pretty extreme example - not many mares will let a yearling that isn’t their offspring nurse from them, though it obviously does happen sometimes. But it’s a good reminder that what you see in a photograph isn’t always the full picture. Another good example is the third photo in this post. You’d probably assume that Rabbit was Thelma’s foal, but she was not. Her mom is standing behind them, and Rabbit was just having a sweet moment with her “aunt” Thelma.

This is why using science to determine genetics is so important! The photographs and other archival records are incredibly important and have helped us tremendously in identifying many of these possible relationships, but at the end of the day only the DNA can say for sure who is related to who. We are still working on collecting samples from the wild herd and have a long way to go before our database is full of verified pedigrees, but we’ve been making great strides these past few months. It’s really starting to come together, and we’re excited to share more and more with you as we continue to establish the ancestry and lineages of this endangered herd.

www.corollawildhorses.com/support-corolla-wild-horse-fund/ ... See MoreSee Less

Corolla Wild Horse Fund

2 weeks ago

We took advantage of the nice weather yesterday! ☀️

Most of the horses at the farm can’t be in heavy work due to age or physical limitations, but they still need to get out of the pastures and get some exercise on a regular basis. We utilize the trails in the back of our property often - even the horses that can’t be ridden love to go on nature walks. They get to move around, see things they don’t normally see, and visit with other horses they don’t share pastures with. It’s great enrichment for everyone!

Sponsor a rescued Banker horse living on our farm: www.corollawildhorses.com/horse-sponsorships/ ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

3 weeks ago

It rained overnight and everyone had a good roll in the mud - even Brio over at the farm! Rolling is a form of self-grooming. It loosens up dried sweat along with dead skin and hair, and helps relieve itchiness. In the summertime the mud creates a barrier against biting flies and can even help keep the horses cool. Spa day, Banker horse style!

www.corollawildhorses.org ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

3 weeks ago

Have you gotten your tickets for this year’s Valentines Day Raffle? This one-of-a-kind pot made by Middleton Clay Project is infused with hair from Blossom (pictured), Amadeo, and their son Junior.

All proceeds benefit CWHF!

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit our website: www.corollawildhorses.com/shop/raffle/ ... See MoreSee Less

Corolla Wild Horse Fund

4 weeks ago

Some more pictures from the farm today. The sun came out this afternoon but it didn’t warm up enough for anything to melt. All of the horses were really enjoying the snow!

It’s important for horses to have plenty of hay (or other forage) to eat when it’s cold like this. As the fiber ferments in their hindgut it creates a built-in heat source that keeps them warm even on snowy days like today.

We rely on your generous support to keep the rescued Banker horses in our care happy and healthy all year long. You can sponsor a horse, buy a bale of hay, become a member, or simply make a one-time donation - it all make a huge impact!

⬇️

www.corollawildhorses.com/support-corolla-wild-horse-fund/ ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

4 weeks ago

Snow pics from Corolla and the 4x4!

The wild horses are mostly laying low and staying out of the wind but a few have been out and about this morning. The snow on their backs means they are warm - their thick winter coats are not letting their body heat escape.

Sure is beautiful! ❄️

www.corollawildhorses.org ... See MoreSee Less

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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

1 month ago

The horses look extra fluffy when it’s really cold because their thick winter hair stands up on end to trap body heat and insulate them from the outside air. A nap in the sun is a good way to stay warm too! Horses are most comfortable during cooler weather, so even though this cold snap may feel pretty brutal to us they really don’t mind it at all. 🧣

www.corollawildhorses.org ... See MoreSee Less

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