|
The wild Banker horses that roam the northernmost Outer Banks are a treasured part of the living history of the Outer Banks, and there are a variety of ways to get to know them. Horse-sighting tours are available to help sightseers find the elusive horses roaming in the dunes, or you can visit the Corolla Wild Horse Museum, which creates an experience that gives visitors an emotional connection to the horses.
Housed in the old schoolhouse in the
historic village of Corolla, the Corolla Wild Horse Museum gives visitors a sense of
stepping back in time. The Twiddy family of Twiddy & Company Realtors renovated the historic one-room schoolhouse in 1999. One of many Corolla village buildings restored by the Twiddy family, the schoolhouse restoration project maintained nearly all of the original structure and materials. It was important to the Twiddys that the schoolhouse be used in a way that would maintain the educational spirit of the school and, given their passion for the wild horses, they chose to convert it to the Corolla Wild Horse Museum and the home of the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, the nonprofit group that manages the herd.
Small yet full of interesting information, the museum features interactive displays, such as kid-level buttons to push to hear the
whinnies and nays of the wild horses. One
display explains the distinctive colors of the Banker horses, while another has a model of the canon bone, helping to explain one of
the unique anatomical characteristics of this special group of horses. An aerial map of the area explains how the land where the horses roam has changed, and video panels show images that express visually the concerns
about human encroachment on the horse habitat. The video screens are framed in an antique salvaged ship’s timber that was once
a part of the schoolhouse foundation.
Currently on the northern Outer Banks there are 96 horses, down from 116, with
losses due to rescues of injured or sick animals, natural death, adoptions to reduce herd size and unnatural death (such as being struck by
a vehicle). Six horses have been shot in the past few years; it is not known who shot them or why, and there is a reward for information leading to an arrest.
The horses originally roamed free along the northern beaches, but as the area grew into a resort community during the 1980s and ’90s, the horses encountered problems. It was not uncommon to find a horse in the middle of the road, or to look out a window and see a horse with its head in a garbage can. People feeding the horses became a huge concern, as the
horses’ specialized digestive system cannot handle human food and the animals were
getting sick, sometimes fatally so. Additionally, the horses became habituated to humans and associated them with a food source. To protect the horses, a group of concerned citizens
established the Corolla Wild Horse Fund
and erected two ocean-to-sound fences in the mid-’90s, one at the North Carolina/Virginia border, the other just north of the Village of Corolla. However, 80 percent of this fenced land is privately owned and, from the horses’ perspective, at risk of development, which would further diminish their habitat.
The horses themselves have a fascinating history and they are extremely special and unique – they were named
one of North Carolina’s most significant historic and cultural resources in 1995. Pure descendents of Spanish Mustangs brought here approximately 500 years ago, the Banker horses are beautiful examples of their Arabian lineage. Genetic testing in the 1980s proved this direct link, and recent studies have confirmed it. The horses have lived along the northern beaches for five centuries, adapting to the harsh
weather and the unique environment. Karen McCalpin of the Corolla Wild Horse Fund calls them “lean, mean, survival machines.”
Not unlike the Galapagos Islands, where the isolation enabled many species to evolve
special adaptations to their environments, the Outer Banks environment has created horses that are as resourceful as any Outer Banks local. In the heat of summer, the horses can often be found swimming in the ocean to keep cool and avoid the insects of the marshes. As wind and weather kick up, the horses take shelter in the dunes. They can tolerate some salinity in their drinking water, and, in fact, the sea spray on the reeds, sea oats and scrubby grasses they eat provides them with essential electrolytes that protect them against dehydration. The horses have also found a delicious treat in the man-made canals of the northern beach area – marshy underwater vegetation that if left unchecked would plug up the canal.
There are 23 bands or families of horses in the population. Each band consists of from three to six horses, including stallion (the leader of all members of the band), a lead mare (who is the head of all the mares in the band), and usually a few other members, such as
other mares, yearlings or foals. There are also bachelor stallion bands, made up of colts that are too old to stay in the family band as they pose a challenge to the lead stallion. In the spring of 2007 there appeared to be a number of pregnant mares, and the Corolla Wild Horse Fund was expecting more than 30 newborns.
The Corolla Wild Horse Museum and retail store is managed by the Corolla Wild Horse Fund and is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Thursdays it is open until 8 p.m. Once a week during the summer, the museum hosts a children’s day with activities that include painting wooden horse forms and storytelling.
From July 8 to 13 the Corolla Wild Horse Fund is sponsoring Wild Horse Days. There will be special events
all week at Currituck Heritage Park and the museum, with food and music, mule-drawn cart rides and a special children’s day with pony rides and ice cream.
The Corolla Wild Horse Fund is also
sponsoring the first annual Corolla Wild Horse Fund Calendar Photo Contest. The contest is open to amateur photographers only, and the final 12 winning photos will appear
in the first-ever Corolla Wild Horse Fund Calendar. The deadline for submissions is June 15. For more information contact the Corolla Wild Horse Fund at (252) 453-8002 or visit www.corollawildhorses.com
Though not sponsored by the Museum
or the Fund, wild-horse viewing tours are available in Corolla. As the horses are often hard to find in their nearly 9,000-acre habitat, and as it is unlawful to feed or come within 50 feet of them, the tours offer a way for visitors to observe and photograph the horses safely. The tour operators work closely with the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, often acting as eyes and ears in the field, alerting the Fund to injuries or health concerns within the horse population. Try Back Country Outfitters & Guides, (252) 453-0877; Bob’s Wild Horse Tours, (252) 453-8602 or (252) 453-3340; or Corolla Outback Adventures, (252)453-4484.
|
