North Carolina's Wild Horses

     The wild horses of North Carolina's Outer Banks once roamed freely along the entire length of this coastal barrier island chain, isolated from man for the most part for nearly 400 years. Descended from Spanish mustangs brought by the earliest European explorers to the Carolina coast, they have tenaciously survived this harsh and unforgiving environment.
     By the early 20th century the popularity of this rugged landscape as a vacation mecca had taken over much of the prime Outer Banks land. Eventually the National Park Service took control over most of what was left, pushing the wild mustangs into more isolated havens. Now there are but three groups of these beautiful horses left.

The Wild Spanish Mustangs of Corolla
roam some 12,000+ acres of protected land on the northern tip of Currituck Banks between Corolla and the Virginia state line. They once wandered an area 2-3 times larger until explosive development and construction forced them into the last remote land on Currituck Banks, also now threatened with overdevelopment.    READ MORE »»

The Ocracoke "Banker" Ponies
roamed Ocracoke Island for hundreds of years until highway NC 12 was built in 1957 to connect Ocracoke Village to the ferry landing at Hatteras Inlet. Now they are limited to 100+ acres of fenced pasture to keep them away from the dangers of cars on the highway. Some of the ponies are rotated from the pasture to the viewing pen located next to NC12 so visitors can see them.         READ MORE »»

The Wild Horses of Shackleford Banks
roam free on the isolated barrier island called Shackleford Banks, adjacent to Harkers Island. The half-mile wide Shackleford Banks stretches approximately nine miles between Beaufort and Cape Lookout. Like the Ocracoke "ponies", these wild Spanish mustangs are under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service.   READ MORE »»
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Help Protect
North Carolina's
Wild Horses
by supporting the

Corolla WIld
Horse Fund, Inc.
and
The Foundation for Shackleford Horses