‘Butts to the wind’ works! Outer Banks wild horses appear fine after hurricane

Several of the northern Outer Banks wild mustangs, and their feral friend Raymond the mule, have been spotted during and following Hurricane Dorian, and everybody appears unscathed.

“Every horse we’ve seen has been fine,” Meg Puckett, herd manager for the Corolla Wild Mustang Fund, said Saturday afternoon.”No reason to think there are any major injuries or issues.”

“A lot of people were worried about the foals, but they are fine!” Puckett said.

Side note about Raymond: He’s a scrappy old mule who’s probably the product of a donkey and wild mare. He’ been around for more than 20 years and he’s survived hurricanes before. Dorian is no exception.

Prior to the storm, Puckett said the colonial Spanish mustang herd would likely ride out the the winds and rain as their ancestors did before them — in huddles, “butts to the wind.”

Wild mustangs have roamed the Outer Bank for 500 years, and instinctually know how survive the harsh weather of the barrier islands.

Today there are about 100 mustangs living on the northern beaches of Currituck County, and 15 horses living at the Corolla Wild Horse Fund’s rescue farm nearby.