Video: Corolla wild horses get into a scrap on the beach

A pair of stallions get into a fight on the beach along the Currituck Outer Banks on May 23, 2020. [Daniel Jackson video]

Daniel Jackson captured video of several of the Corolla wild horses getting into a scrap on the beach earlier this month, just another example of why it is so important to give the colonial Spanish mustangs plenty of space.

“This is normal, natural behavior! The smaller stallion is a bachelor who has been fighting to get a mare all spring. He is determined!” according to a post on Facebook from the Corolla Wild Horse Fund.

“Do they get hurt? Yes. It’s not uncommon to see stallions missing parts of ears, and most of them have at least one large scar from a fight,” said the group that manages the herd that roams the four-wheel drive area of the Currituck Outer Banks.

They said that while it doesn’t happen often, they can absolutely kill each other during fights like these. And that could have serious or even deadly consequences if humans get to close.

A Currituck County ordinance requires giving wild horses at least 50 feet of space at all times. If the horses approach, do your best to move away from them.

And don’t feed them anything. Their highly specialized diet only includes native plants and grasses with no supplemental feeding provided by the Wild Horse Fund or any other organization. Over the years several horses have died as a result of being fed by humans.

“The bachelor in this video will keep trying his hardest to win a mare, and in the meantime is just fine on his own or hanging out with other bachelors. Again, normal behavior for a wild horse!”

Video courtesy Daniel Jackson:

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Sam Walker was news director for OBXToday.com, Beach 104, 99.1 The Sound, Big 94.5 WCMS and Z 92.3 from August 2011 to March 2022.