Horse Illustrated Magazine

Another Corolla wild horse was found shot to death Nov.16. Now, investigators are hoping necropsy results from the dead black stallion will provide information that may lead them to the shooter.

Corolla Wild Horse Fund director Karen McCalpin said the horse marks the seventh Corolla wild horse shot in the past six years.

Despite a reward that has grown to $12,000, none of the cases have been solved.

The dead horse was found by a hunter in the N.C. Estuarine Research Reserve.

The necropsy is expected to reveal bullet caliber and other details to help with the investigation, McCalpin says.

The small herd of Corolla wild horses on the Currituck County beaches of North Carolina live on the region’s isolated Outer Banks. The banks consist of a string of sand dunes (islands) that are separated from the mainland by large bodies of water.

To help protect and preserve the herd, the Corolla Wild Horse Fund Inc. was formed in 1989 to heighten awareness of the presence of wild horses in the area. The organization is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit, supported mainly by public contributions and is responsible for managing the wild horses on the Currituck northern beaches of the Outer Banks.

In 1995, North Carolina State Secretary of the Department of Cultural Resources Betty McCain signed a proclamation stating that the Corolla wild horses are one of North Carolina’s most significant historic and cultural resources of the coastal area and protections were put in place to safeguard the animals.

Even with protections in place, the horses are in constant danger due to area development–and now guns.

“Once the Corolla wild horses are gone, they are gone forever. They are the last remaining herd of wild horses on the Outer Banks,” McCalpin says. “They are an important part of the nation’s history and the history of North Carolina. I want whoever did this to be held accountable.”

For more information on the Corolla Wild Horses, visit www.corollawildhorses.com.