Corolla NC / Wild Horses Question

Hey all,

So we're planning a trip in either very late Sept or Oct. I haven't been to the beach in ahwile, so my portfolio is definitely lacking some coast stuff. One thing I really wanted to do was wild horses and lighthouses. I only have a long weekend, so after some research I think we settled on the Corolla NC area.

For the wild horses, what's the best gear to bring? I've got my 70-200 f2.8, but I could MAYBE swing a 500 that I am borrowing through CPS if the timing is right and if warranted (coming from seeing elk in the GSMNP).

Question is, most shots I see it seems the horses are pretty close and 500mm would be WAY too tight. For those who have shot there before, what's best? Are the tourist jeep tours enough to get good stuff, or do you have to go it alone or with a photo guide to hit the right stops at the right time/light? Any good sunrise/sunset locations? I couldn't really find much in previous posts. Is Sept/Oct a really good or bad time to go? I don't know hardly anything about the behavior of the horses. I'm really looking for that shot with horses against the waves and dunes, mother with fawn, etc.

Thanks in advance!
Doug

No one?

We used Wild Horse Adventures and rode in the open Hummer, It was worth the money just to find out where they stay most of the time.

If you do the guided tours the 70-200 will be enough reach for the horses. We just did it in July, i had my 400mm and the 28-135. I used the 28-135 more than the 400 for the horses.

I don't think you need a guide, but it's easier. I don't think just anyone can drive on the beach up there. Could be wrong. It's more about right place right time and being respectful of the horses. I don't think you'd need a 500.

Anyone with a 4x4 can drive on the beach up where the horses are.

I guess if you wnated to drive up on the beach yourself and wait for one of the tour jeeps to ride by you could follow them and see where they go.

Its against the law to be closer than 50 ft of the horses, Usually the further north you go the better your odds are at finding horses, We did see two about 300 yards up the beach from where you get on it.

Most of the horse tours offer a money back IF you don't see any horses, so they are pretty sure they will find some.

On our tour we were about 30 mins getting to them and about an hour riding around looking for them and then 30 mins ride back, so out of the two hours you only really have about one hour looking for horses.

To me it was worth doing the tour once. Now I have a better ideal of where to go looking for them next year.

I've been to Atlantic Beach area twice, my favorite area was Shackleford Banks for horses and a short distance away is Cape Lookout with it's lighthouse. A friend of mine lives there and takes me in his skiff to the islands, used my 18-135 the entire time, The horses are easy to get close to, in fact they were often too close, this is after you get on their island of course.
I believe there are tour boats and transfers to Cape Lookout and they will go past the horses along the way. I would say they would be a great time saver and probably not expensive if you want the shot. This would probably hold true for a few miles up the coast at Corolla but have never been there.

HOBO_sm has a lot of great info to offer. They are quite strict about the stay 50+ feet from the horses and to not bother them. Also there are many areas that are restricted from driving access which are not marked either. I would recommend the tour for the first time as we had found out the hard way back in April and spent a few hours of driving in circles where the homes are and not seeing any horses. I did find out afterward that we also didn't travel far enough up the beach. When I head back out in Sept. we will be doing one of the tours.