Wild Horses of the OBX

Corova, N.C.

MKIII, EF500 or 70-200.

Nice shots! Are these truly wild horses? I had no idea that there were wild horses in the east (other than Sable island ponies).

snowyowl13 wrote in post #8952316
Nice shots! Are these truly wild horses? I had no idea that there were wild horses in the east (other than Sable island ponies).

It's more a tradition to have a small herd of free range horses on the outer banks, than it is a sustainable ecological niche. The range is tightly controlled and limited in size. There are viewing spots along the road that runs the length of the islands. As you can see from the pictures above, these horses do not have to forage like the wild bands roaming the Idaho-Nevada BLM lands.

Nice shots and yes, those are wild horses that call OBX home. Probably 20 years ago, they were everywhere at the north end around Corolla and beyond where accessible only by 4WD vehicles. It wasn't uncommon to wake up in the morning and have 2 horses occupying the carport of your rental home!

Overbuilding began about 10 years ago which drove the herds north and away from the view of visitors and camera lens. Hopefully, the herds are making a comeback in the area. I have some shots (paper only) of the horses standing in the middle of a group of homes in Corolla. Not sure what their numbers are today, but you can be assured they are still protected.

Thanks for posting the pics. Beautiful animals and nicely captured.

dave

snowyowl13 wrote in post #8952316
Nice shots! Are these truly wild horses? I had no idea that there were wild horses in the east (other than Sable island ponies).

Yes they are wild. They have been living free on the island for 400 years. There are also some on Shackleford Island which is accessible only by boat which I am visiting in the spring.

http://www.nc-outerbanks.com/horseco​nt.html

advaitin wrote in post #8952390
It's more a tradition to have a small herd of free range horses on the outer banks, than it is a sustainable ecological niche. The range is tightly controlled and limited in size. There are viewing spots along the road that runs the length of the islands. As you can see from the pictures above, these horses do not have to forage like the wild bands roaming the Idaho-Nevada BLM lands.

These bands of horses are in fact self sustaining. Currently there are appx. 120 roaming the north end of the island. As long as their population remains above 80 they will continue to thrive.

There are in fact viewing areas along the 4x4 only road which is covered by deep shifting sands. You can rent a jeep locally for $150 for 2 hours to get where some can be found along the shore or dunes. The down side is you are restricted to stay along the beaten paths.

I was fortunate to go out with one of the resident biologists to the other side of the island along the sound. It was inaccessible to vehicles and we hiked through marsh to observe them with no other people around which was nice to say the least.

You had a wonderful opportunity. Great shots. What I was trying to say--and thinking of the way it is at Ocracoke--is that these herds are managed rather intensively and the land available for them is, in fact limited.

I've been to Ocracoke and seen the conditions there and been in Idaho and shot one of the wild horse roundups. The western horses see humans far less frequently, have very little restriction over their range and only get a little care and management compared to the island horses. If there wasn't an emotional response years ago to to a children's book about a wild horse on the Virginia side of the islands, I don't think these small ranges would have been saved from the developers.

Nice work, Mike.

Beautiful images. Lucky you to be able to have that opportunity.

Nice series.

Beautiful horses.

Blue Deuce - Super shots, great light. I personally like the third image

Love that 3rd one! Thanks so much for sharing!

advaitin wrote in post #8952642
If there wasn't an emotional response years ago to to a children's book about a wild horse on the Virginia side of the islands, I don't think these small ranges would have been saved from the developers.

Yep, Misty of Chincoteague. I read that book & the rest of the series when I was a horse crazy little girl. (and, every other horse book that woman wrote!)

Jaci