Valerie and I spent a few days down on the Outer Banks in NC with the specific intent of going to see the wild horses that have lived on the island since the 1800's. They're these beautiful Spanish horses that have adapted to living there without any domestication from the local folks. There are strict rules about not interacting or feeding them, and you can not go closer than 50 feet from them (although if they walk past you or come up to where you are- you won't get in trouble for it).
We took a tour out to see them in a wildlife reserve on the northern part of the Outer Banks (OBX) in Corolla. They brought us out on to the beach in a hummer - and we got lucky because just after we got out there- the first horse came out over a hill of a dune- and we saw him....
He came down the hill and was soon followed by 2 others -
They grazed on the grass for a bit -
And the stallion climbed up to the top of the dune-
It almost felt like a scene out of the Lion King! Dude was King of the World up there! Their coats were all gorgeous! They clean themselves by going in the water, then rolling in the sand to rub the dirt and bugs off, then back in the ocean water to clean up!
It was so cool to watch them just be natural. They weren't doing what anyone asked, or doing any tricks. They were just doing what comes natural to them - and they people of OBX respect that and leave them be. There are a bunch of house up there on the other side of the dunes, and these horses show up in their yards and just graze on the grass and go about their business. Meanwhile- the residents do the same and pay the horses no mind whatsoever. That way they (the horses) don't get used to depending on humans for anything. Pretty cool.
And when the stallion came down - all 3 just sat grazing for a bit before we took off-
We saw a lot more horses than these, when we ventured into the neighborhoods on the other side of the island- but I like the dune pics more than any of a horse walking through someones yard - hahah.
In case you're going to OBX- I highly recommend you see these horses. I know there are many tours you can go on - but the one we went on was Wild Horse Adventure Tours and they were great.
If you love horses- it's certainly worth the visit.
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