The Outer Banks’ wild horses are fine after Florence

Published 7:22 pm Saturday, September 15, 2018

The Outer Banks’ wild horses seem to have weathered Hurricane Florence just fine.

On Saturday, the Corolla Wild Horse Fund – which manages the herd of about 100 wild mustangs in Corolla and Carova – posted photos of some horses munching on grass.

The penned wild ponies on Ocracoke Island also did just fine through the storm. Cape Hatteras National Seashore said Saturday all the ponies were safe and the pony pen didn’t sustain any damage.

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On Cape Lookout National Seashore, the national park service and volunteers are anxious to check on the wild herd there, but flooding and dangerous conditions are preventing authorities from getting there by boat.

“Even once we can get to the islands, the census of the horses can take a couple of days to complete as we try to locate each one,” Cape Lookout wrote in a Facebook post. “Rest assured that we will let you know the status of the horses and island facilities as soon as we can. Please be safe!”

The Corolla Wild Horse Fund said wild horses  are “well-equipped to deal with rough weather.”

“The horses have lived on this barrier island for 500 years,” the group wrote. “They know where to go to stay high and dry.”