Outer Banks’ wild horse herd has survived 500 years of storms

OBX Today

September 5th

by Kari Pugh

There’s one group of Outer Banks residents who won’t be evacuating for Hurricane Dorian — the wild horses.

Instead, the colonial Spanish mustang herd will likely ride out the the winds and rain as their ancestors did before them — in huddles, “butts to the wind.”

“They have an institutional knowledge of where it’s high, dry and safe,” said Meg Puckett, herd manager for the Corolla Wild Horse Fund. “It’s one of the few times we see a lot of the different harems come together.”

The herd of about 100 mustangs roaming the northern beaches of Currituck County have been around for centuries and, at least in recent memory, they’ve come through hurricanes and nor’easters unscathed.

The Corolla Wild Horse Fund is busy making preparations for its rescue farm, where 15 mustangs live.

Caretakers make sure they’ve got first aid kits in order, halters, leads and ropes set our for each horse, extra grain and hay as well as extra water on hand.

Puckett plans to stay at the farm with the horses through the storm, and has plenty of residents and volunteers in the field keeping tabs on the wild ones.