Christopher Columbus Wild Horses Of North Carolina

There has been question's of whether Christopher Columbus really did discover America, but there seems to be no doubt he is to thank for the wild mustangs we still have today in North Carolina. These were to them like cars to us though and if not for these horses we can only imagine the hardship.

The Spanish mustangs of Corolla have long been popular from the Outer Banks of North Carolina, one of very few places in America that wild mustangs still roam free, surviving in a place once an isolated coastal location.

From Spanish mustangs arriving nearly 500 years ago, these strong, wild horses have lived here since the earliest explorers and shipwrecks. In early centuries there were thousands of these wild mustangs wandering all of the Outer Banks, from Shackleford Banks, all along Core Banks, Hatteras, Ocracoke, and on northward beyond Corolla on Currituck Banks. Being protected now, they should remain free to live as their ancestors have for centuries. A group of these wild horses wanders freely on Shackleford Banks, near Cape Lookout. This island helps to separate them, and has for hundreds of years. The island and its over one hundred wild horses, called the Shackleford ponies as well for their small stature, are under the protection of the National Park Service, although visitors may come to watch and photograph them. Shackleford Banks is admittance from Beaufort and Harker's Island by Park Service endorsed private passenger ferries, and by boat.

These horses don’t actually reside in the village of Corolla as they did for hundreds of years. Highway NC12 was finished from Duck to Corolla in the mid '80's, and brought fast traffic, many people and explosive uses that were too dangerous for the horses. With help of cooperating agencies, the wild Spanish mustangs were protected and moved north of Corolla to the last isolated land not developed on the most northern places of Currituck Banks. Although they are mostly safe there for now, their future is still threatened by the pressures of never-ending development.

These wild horses are proven to be offspring of the Spanish mustangs brought to America by explorers and colonists in the 14^th century, with DNA proving it. The largest community here is Carova, up against the Virginia state line. Past here there is no beach traffic, with the north horse fence not only keeping the Corolla wild horses from wandering into Virginia, but keep out people and traffic out on the Virginia side, where special permits are always required.

The most beautiful sightings are when the horses stand on the high dunes overlooking the beach, or gallop along the beach by the ocean waves. This is the only place in the world you can see true wild Spanish mustangs in such a beautiful surrounding sight, with claims this area being in one of the original thirteen colonies.They feed on the marsh grasses and salt grasses and reach the fresh water that is two to three feet below the surface, digging down to it.

After Columbus’ 2^nd voyage here in 1493, horses were listed with the preserved Archive of the Indies. As more Spanish explorers arrived, they continued to bring more horses with them because Columbus insisted that every colony ship sent to Hispaniola should include stallions and mares. The growing number of horses meant horse ranches were soon established.

Lucas Vasques de Ayllon in the 1500’s sent three expeditions from Hispaniola to the Carolinas and Virginia, moving to what is now called Cape Lookout, to build and govern a Spanish colony. Failing to make a go, the survivors caught a ship back to Hispaniola, leaving here all the horses they brought with them.

For 400 years, these horses have become a part of their surroundings and thrived into a separate and distinct breed of horse. Being no absolute certainty these horses are direct descendants of horses Columbus brought here, the genetic test indicate they are descended from the horses from Spain.

Highway NC12 was built between Duck and Corolla in the mid 1980's and before that there was not much habitation north of the small village of Duck, other than for Corolla, which centered around the Currituck Beach Lighthouse and the Whalehead Club. Corolla was like a different world, isolated away from public roads in the remote northern area of Currituck Banks. The entire area was open for the wild mustangs to roam freely.

As the highway came and connected Duck to Corolla, with the red brick lighthouse, it was opened to the world, and everything started to change. Paved highways brought people and cars by the thousands. Miles of once isolated beaches became never ending strips of multi-story beach houses and condominiums. The change was astounding. So many people and so many cars on a narrow, twisted highway made it inevitable the wild roaming horses would be affected. The wild mustangs' deaths and injuries mounted up as cars and horses collided, as should have been foreseen.

In 1989 the Corolla Wild Horse Fund was formed to bring public awareness of the problem. Eventually about 7500 acres of land, several miles north of Corolla, were set apart as an isolated sanctuary for the horses. Taking about five years the wild horses were relocated north of Corolla, beyond where highway NC12 came to an end.

At one time, wild horses roamed the entire length of Core Banks in Carteret County. Today, the remaining horses are restricted to Shackleford Banks, a narrow island that runs east-west from Cape Lookout to Beaufort Inlet. The Park Service acquired Shackleford Banks in 1981, with plans to restore it to its natural state.

They would be kept safe here from the dangerous highway traffic with a fence that had been built all the way across the island from Currituck Sound to the ocean. A fence like it was also crossed the island on the northern edge of the protected area at the Virginia state line which kept the horses from going north into a preserve in Virginia. It seemed an ideal solution under the circumstances. The change for use of this remote area was the stipulation that the herd be limited to no more than 60 horses, but it soon it was seen that 60 horses was not a large enough number to make a feasible gene pool. If a solution to this dilemma could not be found, genetic defects would certainly begin showing up and eventually be an end to the freedom of these rare and endangered wild Spanish mustangs.

Restrictions on herd size was needed because of conflicting interests between the individuals, agencies and organizations who own much of the land in the horses' new home, being fears the horses may interfere with other wildlife uses of the land.

It was hoped the planned study would answer many questions and put an end to the objections of some of those involved. For the horse’s safety from the increasing vehicle traffic, the Corolla Wild Horse Fund (CWHF), built a fence from sound to ocean and from the edge of the last group of homes to the Virginia state line. The Corolla Wild Horse Fund (CWFH) is responsible for the care of the herd that lives on this eleven mile stretch of land. Seventeen have been killed in car accidents since 1989, where a single-car collision killed six horses, including several unborn foals and their mothers. Even as of last year a couple more were hit and killed. Some have been harmed by released feeding in the form of human handouts and fertilizer on the lush lawns of Corolla.

Wild horses and people live here together. Though the horses are use to the presence of people and cars, they are still not tame. The wildness is what protects them, horses that come to expect food or the attentions of people have to be removed from the wild herd. These are taken and put up for adoption, which then denies the herd of yet another member of an already endangered gene pool. For them to survive there must be enough horses in the herd to keep up a sufficient bloodline for future generations. Each time one of these rare horses is injured because of someone's careless actions, it puts the future of these rare mustangs in deeper peril.

There are rules requiring people to keep at least 50 feet away from the horses. No petting, feeding or annoying the horses is allowed, and tempting one to come closer than 50 feet to anyone has the same penalty as getting too close to the wild horse yourself. Speed limits are set on the beach, not only to protect the horses, but people on the beach also. Visitors should be aware of the rules and regulations when they come to see these wild mustangs. These mustangs have thousands of acres to roam and if not out on the beach or dunes, then grazing among the trees, brush and vegetation along the back roads.

The biggest worry today seems to be disease.You can help to keep them wild and free>

http://corollawildhorses.com