Break'n Wind Beach House

06/24/2024

Anyone interested in a Thursday to Thursday rental Aug 8- 15th?

05/05/2024

It’s been brought to our attention that a photo of an elderly wild stallion, Theo, has been posted in a local Facebook group and people are understandably concerned about his body condition. We want to provide some information and context before the conversation spirals any further.

Theo is very old for a wild horse; we believe he is most likely close to 30 years old or even in his early 30s based on physical characteristics and our photographic records dating back to the early 2000s. Over the last couple years we have watched Theo age like a typical wild stallion. This past winter was particularly rough for him, but it is also normal (and healthy) for horses to have cyclical weight gain and loss throughout the year. They bulk up over the summer and then burn those fat reserves over the winter, and it is very typical (and also healthy) for them to enter into spring on the thin side. This is often even more noticeable in older horses who may also have other issues related to aging (worn down teeth, for example) that can make keeping weight on difficult for them.

While Theo’s body condition may be alarming for some people to see, it is not currently life-threatening and he is still behaving normally for a wild horse of his age. We have been monitoring him very closely over the last few months and our vet has also been consulted and is aware of Theo’s condition and history. At this point in time we have no plans to intervene because Theo simply does not need our help. He is living out a normal life cycle for a wild horse and it is our responsibility to give him the chance to do that. As long as Theo is able to get to water, graze, and otherwise behave normally we will continue to monitor him from a distance. If at any point our management team and veterinarian determine that Theo has reached the end of his life and needs to be humanely euthanized to prevent further suffering, we will step in immediately.

Theo deserves the chance to die as naturally as he has lived - free, and without ever having human hands on him. That is what we hope for every single one of the wild horses, but unfortunately not often the case. Theo is very lucky that he has lived such a long, good life and while it may be hard for us to watch, we have to remove our emotions from it and focus on doing what’s best for the horse from both a wildlife management and veterinary perspective.

We appreciate that so many people care about Theo, and we also appreciate your trust in us to do what’s best for him.

www.corollawildhorses.org

07/01/2023

Incredible!

07/01/2023

05/21/2023

Yes! ❤️💯

08/09/2021

Break’n Wind is blue house on right at 2:15

07/03/2021

03/31/2021

Nutria on the beach.

03/30/2021

As always please keep your distance.

03/05/2021

Here’s a new service in the 4x4.

This summers rates and services. Because of request we have decided to add the sound side tours to our list of services. So if fishing isn’t your thing we can get you and your family out there to see the sights and wildlife that the sound has to offer.

09/16/2020

Just opened up some fall weeks!

https://abnb.me/wuoDOHZxP9

Unforgettable trips start with Airbnb. Find adventures nearby or in faraway places and access unique homes, experiences, and places around the world.

08/26/2020

07/13/2020

This makes me so mad I want to cry!

Friday evening we lost Danny, a yearling c**t, in a horrific, devastating, completely preventable way. Danny choked on an apple. Read that again - Danny choked on an apple. When we say that apples and carrots KILL wild horses, we are not kidding. We are not being overly dramatic. We are not using scare tactics. Apples and carrots KILL wild horses.

Danny was killed by humans who had no regard for the safety of the horses. No regard for the health of the horses. No regard for the laws put in place to protect the horses.

Danny most likely had an obstructed esophagus for days before being found by someone who recognized he was in distress and called us. If you see something CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY.

We arrived on the scene Friday morning and under the direction of our vet, administered a sedative to try and relax his esophagus and allow the obstruction to pass. He was loaded into the trailer and taken to the rescue farm where the vet was waiting for us. The sedative did help pass the obstruction (the apple), but upon examination, we discovered that it had been lodged in his throat long enough to cause an infection and most likely a rupture to his esophagus. A nasal tube was inserted and the contents of his throat and stomach were flushed out, and fluids were pumped directly into his stomach. He was started on antibiotics but there was a serious worry about permanent damage to his esophagus and the development of pneumonia due to aspiration.

We got Danny as stable as possible (he was not stable enough to travel to the hospital at NCSU) but at about 7:30 Friday night, Danny died. He most likely suffered a traumatic head injury from thrashing around for days while he was choking, and it's also likely that the damage to his esophagus caused bleeding into his lungs. If this is hard for you to read, we can promise you it was much harder to witness in person, and it was absolute hell for Danny to suffer through. At least once he was at the farm, he was sedated and hopefully no longer feeling any pain. Danny was just a baby. Even in the few short hours he was in our care, he had started to look to us for comfort and support.

All of this could have been prevented. Danny didn't deserve to die this way. The herd doesn't deserve to lose a young horse like this. And it should not take a horse dying from being fed for there to be a serious wake-up call. But here we are. So let's not let Danny's death be in vain. Stop feeding the horses. Stop touching the horses, Stop interacting with the horses. If the horses come up to you, walk away. Secure your belongings on the beach. Pick up your garbage. Call and report infractions that you witness.

Educate yourselves about the horses and the ways you can help protect them: https://www.corollawildhorses.com/learn/

Utilize the resources we've made available: https://www.corollawildhorses.com/community-wild-horse-toolkit/

Don't let this happen again. We are begging you to please help us keep these horses safe. Please don't let Danny's death be in vain.

(CWHF photo by Bruce Wilkins, Corolla NC, April 2019)

05/30/2020

Just don’t.

Please PLEASE do not do this. It’s so incredibly dangerous for horse and human. Our staff is responding with information and law enforcement has been notified. This stallion has spent the last 3 days battling for his mares. He lost them, got them back for a while, lost them again, and now he’s back with them. He is not only on high alert, ready to fight at a moment’s notice, but he is also exhausted. He can’t even rest because people won’t respect his space. Don’t be selfish and inconsiderate like this. Admire the horses from a distance and respect the laws that are in place to keep everyone safe. It’s a pretty simple concept.

12/17/2019

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Time in Corolla.
I really like this. Hey, good morning.

Photo by Jeff Kelly. Corolla Beach Music

11/06/2019

Whales!

Heading South -- Two whales, most likely humpbacks, spout at the surface while swimming past Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head Monday afternoon. Humpback whales are found in every ocean in the world.
The pectoral fin of a whale sticks out of the ocean as it swims by Jennette’s Pier with another whale on Monday. The unique sea creatures spend the summer months off New England and winter in the warm waters off of the Bahamas.
One of two humpback whales exhales at the surface. These marine mammals can weigh up to 40 tons, which is the size of a bus.

10/14/2019

Currituck Outer Banks

Kicking it into a wild and wonderful week ❤️

10/01/2019

Please donate!

You may have noticed it’s been a little quiet here for the past couple of weeks, and that’s because we’ve been incredibly busy dealing with a situation that is on-going and quite serious.

The fence that keeps the horses from entering onto the paved road and the more populated areas of Corolla is in serious disrepair and has been for several years. CWHF has done everything we can to patch up the holes and strengthen the existing fence (as is our responsibility as outlined in the Wild Horse Management Agreement). However, there is a 24ft section of fencing in the ocean that is wide open during the low tide, and easily breached during most high tides. Last spring we attempted a temporary fix to that section, but it only lasted about 36 hours due to the harsh conditions. A marine contractor is required for that kind of work.

We have been working with Currituck County for several years to try and get the fence replaced and had been told the work would be done last March. Apparently the county is having trouble finding a contractor to perform the work. We do not have any idea when the repair/replacement might be completed. In the meantime, a group of horses that were displaced by flooding after Hurricane Dorian have been regularly coming through the gap in the fence into the neighborhoods of Corolla. This is incredibly dangerous for them, and for people.

We’ve tried everything, from sitting on the beach until the late hours of the night to adding ropes and flags to the existing fence in an attempt to scare the horses away from it. Unfortunately, they continue to get through. We have an incredible network of volunteers who have been assisting our staff and the sheriff’s department in getting the horses back to the safety of the 4x4 each morning and we will continue to do this until the fence is repaired. It would be a devastating loss to the herd to have to remove these horses for no fault of their own.

However, there has already been one removal due to this situation. Raymond the mule was among the horses escaping every night. As everyone knows, Raymond’s feet are not in great shape. If he’s on the soft sand, behaving normally, he can manage without lameness or pain. However, after running up and down the asphalt every night for 10 days, Raymond began to show signs that he was experiencing a laminitic episode (https://www.acvs.org/large-animal/laminitis-horses).

Our herd manager noticed that he seemed to be in quite a bit of pain Saturday night (and had observed his lameness getting worse and worse over the past week), and on Sunday morning he would not budge from where he was in the neighborhood even after the other horses had been moved back to the 4x4. Raymond would not have survived many more nights of traveling miles up and down the paved road. We captured him Sunday morning and took him to the rehab farm. It was absolutely heartbreaking to remove him under these circumstances, but in order to save his life it’s the call that had to be made.

He is settling in at the farm, and we are currently working on building a Raymond-proof pasture for him. He’s very different from the horses and requires a different type of fencing to keep him safely contained. Yesterday we spent about $5000 on materials for his new fence. If you’d like to help cover those costs, you can donate at the bottom of this post. He’s already got an appointment with the vet in a few weeks to be anesthetized so that we can trim his feet, check his teeth, and give him his vaccinations. Raymond will probably never be domesticated, but he will be well taken care of for the rest of his life, on his terms and in a place where he is safe.

Please understand that our very small staff is exhausted, both physically and emotionally. We will do our best to answer questions and media inquiries but our time right now is focused on keeping the horses in Corolla safe from the road, and getting Raymond’s pasture at the farm built. Thanks for your support, and we will certainly do our best to keep everyone updated on both Raymond and the status of the fence.

(If you’d like to donate through the mail, the address is PO Box 361, Corolla NC 27927 thank you)

ETA: absolutely overwhelmed by your generosity and kindness. The support and comments have been a huge morale booster this morning. Thank you all 💜

09/27/2019

TGIF!

Yay it's finally Friday!!!

09/17/2019

Don’t you wish you were here?

Raymond and the girls resting on the beach this morning. Doesn’t get much more peaceful than this! 😌☕️☀️

(📸: Paul Swisher)

09/02/2019

The horse tours are getting out of hand and also breaking rules by letting people get too close and herding the horses in for the sake of a dollar and a picture. If you see abuses, take a pic and report to Currituck Co.

08/31/2019

50 feet away people!!

This is Rabbit. She is becoming so habituated we may be facing removing her from the beach. We could avoid that if people would just leave her alone. She came up to you? Help us out and move away from her. There’s absolutely no excuse for this kind of behavior. It’s incredibly frustrating (and heartbreaking) to see, and completely avoidable. If you don’t care about the horses maybe you care that this is illegal and punishable by a hefty fine. Whatever the reason, PLEASE don’t do this.

If you see this happening call the sheriff’s department immediately. The number is 252-232-2216. There is not much we can do about incidents like this if they are reported after the fact.

08/25/2019

Corolla Beach Music

Because Facebook doesn't always show you every post we make, we wanted to share our petition again. This petition is to the US Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the barbed wire fence in the middle of the refuge at the center of the 4x4 area. This fence lead to the death of one of our favorite horses, a young four year old stallion named Joaquin. He was cut by the fence so severely that the fund had to make the decision to euthanize him. PLEASE sign and share this petition so that we do not lose any more horses this way.

https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/protect-the-horses-and?source=c.em.mt&r_by=946882

08/09/2019

Corolla Wild Horse Fund

Here’s a recent photo of Amadeo Jr, the horse who was struck by a vehicle earlier this summer. As you can see, he’s doing great! Have you noticed those white birds that hang out around the horses? They are cattle egrets and they eat the bugs and other little creatures stirred up by the horses.

(📷: Marianne Gradeless)

08/06/2019

No warnings: Currituck Sheriff's Office to strictly enforce laws protecting wild horses - OBX Today

It’s about time! Stay away from the horses!

The Currituck County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday it will now strictly enforce laws protecting the northern beaches’ wild mustang herd – no warnings. The sheriff’s [Read More]

07/16/2019

Corolla Wild Horse Fund

Slow down and don’t drive at night.

After the accident last weekend, we put together a short informational video on how you can help keep the horses safe while driving on the northern beaches. Slow down and stay aware! 🐎

07/15/2019

Town of Nags Head, NC

If you see a loon resting on the beach, please leave it alone. Common loons beach themselves to rest and can rest for up to 24 hours. They can only take flight from a large body of water. As a result, they will beach themselves close to the tideline so they can get back in the water easily to take flight. Also, the birds look injured because their feet are set backwards (how it looks to us); therefore, they look injured if and when they try to walk. The birds can be aggressive and will peck to protect themselves.

07/08/2019

Corolla Beach Music

Happy to say that the stallion who was struck by the vehicle on Friday night was out on the beach as we came home from work today. It was a complete accident and the driver immediately called in the incident and remained on scene. They also helped to identify the horse as it ran off right away. With the horse properly indentified, he can now be monitored. He seemed to be moving around well and keeping his girls together. Amadeo Jr. Is one tough horse.