Roanoke Colonies Research Newsletter
Volume 8, Numbers 1 & 2 (November 2002/ May 2003)

Where the Feral Horses Roam
by Brad Williams and Marshall P. Page, East Carolina University

Corolla’s horses continue to roam the Currituck shores, providing one of the area’s most popular attractions. The Corolla Wild Horse Fund was established in 1989 in order to deal with the inevitable conflicts that arise when a tourist population seeks out wildlife. Vehicles struck several horses in the early 90’s, and ordinances were passed to create public warnings such as “Wild Horse Sanctuary” and “Do Not Feed the Horses.” A fence from ocean to sound was erected in 1994, although hardly impregnable, in an effort to separate the horses from the town of Corolla. Outer Banks Conservationists, Inc., managed the fund until 2001, when $75,000 from New York allowed the Corolla Wild Horse Fund the freedom to incorporate, establish an office, and hire two part-time directors, Gene and Donna Snow. The improvements were substantial considering the struggle encountered when volunteers attempted to round up rogue horses.

The Fifth Avenue source of the endowment was the William H. Donner Foundation. Donner, who died in 1953, was an industrialist who made his fortune in steel and tin. A descendant of Donner and a member of the foundation’s board began offering grants after hearing about Little Red Man, a rebellious stallion who continued to escape from the refuge and return to the lawns and trashcans of Corolla. The indefatigable Little Red Man was eventually moved to Dews Island in Currituck Sound with several other horses from the herd. The rest of the herd roams some 15,000 acres of the northern beaches of Currituck County and often cross the Virginia state line into False Cape State Park and Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The Snows are called whenever strays show up in populated areas of Virginia Beach. A limit of 60 horses in the herd was established in 2000 as a result of a management plan to balance ecological concerns. In late fall of 2001, four horses and a mule were found shot to death, and the Wild Horse Fund found itself in the unenviable position of offering reward money for information. Then, in 2002, excess horses were first put up for adoption. The price per horse was $600 and a comfortable, caring environment.

Opinions are divided as to the origins of the horses. Purists will argue that the term “wild” is inappropriate because the once domesticated status of the herd defines them as feral. Conservationists may wonder how many generations must be born wild in order to obtain the distintion of being called “wild.” Many people look for the horses’ origin in the history of the sixteenth-century Spanish explorers of coastal North Carolina. Livestock would have likely accompanied the men: cattle, sheep, pigs, and horses bred in Puerto Rico. Some of the horses may have been abandoned while others could have made the final leg of their journey swimming ashore after a shipwreck. Additional possible complexity concerning the horses’ identity was fueled by a symposium in 1993 when enthusiasts proposed that “Banker” horses had developed into a new species after several centuries of isolation. DNA tests a few years later by Gus Cothran of the University of Kentucky proved that such a genetic change was impossible in that time span and found that the Banker horses were more akin to New World breeds than the original Spanish stock. The theory suggests that the horses were abandoned much later than the time of the Spanish or Roanoke colonists. However, the Corolla Wild Horse Fund’s patronage does not depend on any official wildlife status, and the Snows will continue to champion the herd regardless of its lineage.

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