Author Archive for: Corolla Wild Horse Fund

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Entries by Corolla Wild Horse Fund

Sunset Sounds Concert Event Canceled

September 13, 2021/by Corolla Wild Horse Fund

The final Sunset Sounds free concert event scheduled for September 16th has been canceled.

Meet Brio, Baby Number Eight

July 23, 2021/by Corolla Wild Horse Fund

July 20, 2021 Post from Herd Manager, Meg Puckett Welcome foal #8! This little colt was born sometime Sunday night, probably during the thunderstorms that rolled through. Our herd manager […]

It’s a Boy!

July 20, 2021/by Corolla Wild Horse Fund

July 20, 2021 Report by CWHF This little colt, the eighth foal of the season, was born sometime Sunday night, probably during the thunderstorms that rolled through. Our herd manager […]

Welcome Beatrice, Seventh Foal of the Season

July 14, 2021/by Corolla Wild Horse Fund

July 14, 2021 Report by CWHF This filly was born on Saturday, July 10. Her name is Beatrice. Beatrice has had an exciting first few days of life. After she […]

Junior’s Rescue and Recovery

July 12, 2021/by Corolla Wild Horse Fund

Last week we almost lost another horse to choking. Because of the quick action of the people who witnessed his distress, we were able to save him…

Junior In Distress, Removed From the Beach

July 5, 2021/by Corolla Wild Horse Fund

Posted July 5, 2021 Report by CWHF Last week we almost lost another horse to choking. Because of the quick action of the people who witnessed his distress, we were […]

Lizzie Update

July 1, 2021/by Corolla Wild Horse Fund

Lizzie has been at NC State for a week now, and is doing well, all things considered. She’s comfortable and has adjusted to hospital life just fine.

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 […]

Latest News

Remembering RaymondNovember 6, 2024 - 1:20 pm
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Corolla Wild Horse Fund

15 hours ago

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: www.corollawildhorses.com/remembering-raymond-submissions/

Rest well, Raymond.

**Media outlets have the permission of the Corolla Wild Horse Fund to share the information and photos in this post. ... See MoreSee Less

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