Corolla, North Carolina – Wild mustangs roam freely on the beaches and dunes north of Corolla. It’s not unusual to see the horses grazing amid the houses and communities at the north end of Bodie Island. There are no roads to get there, so it requires a 4WD vehicle and a bumpy ride to find the wild mustangs on the beach.
I opted to take a tour with Corolla Outback Adventures. So I didn’t have to drive, I just bounced around in the back of an open-air truck, in search of the feral creatures. We also visited a private dune reserve where the wild mustangs like to hang out and enjoy the view.
All together, we saw about a dozen horses – among the houses, at the dune reserve, and grazing on the beach.
Horse History
Nobody knows exactly how the wild Spanish mustangs ended up in the Outer Banks. But horse historians believe they arrived with the earliest Spanish explorers, as early as 1526. Others theorize that some horses swam ashore from shipwrecks – or were deliberately offloaded as extra weight when ships ran aground on the sandbars. In any case, the so-called Banker horses have flourished on the Outer Banks for hundreds of years, with a peak population of 5000 animals in the early 20th century. Nowadays, the Corolla Wild Horse Fund manages and protects the herd of about 100 members in Corolla. Visitors can learn more (and meet rescued and rehabilitating horses) at their Betsy Dowdy Equine Center in Grandy.