05/02/2022
Please just look! Don’t feed or go near them!
Over the last couple days we have gotten several calls about people feeding horses apples. Yes, law enforcement has been involved. But a citation written after the fact isn't going to help the horse after it's already been fed. We shouldn't be getting these calls in the first place - please do not be selfish and short-sighted. Your actions have long-lasting consequences that our organization, our community, and the herd have to deal with after you go home. Losing one horse out of a population of only 100 is a devastating blow, the effects of which last for generations.
We are not asking you to sacrifice anything - just leave the horses alone! Watch them from a distance and do not get close or interact with them. There are signs everywhere. It is very, very hard to believe that anyone who spends any time on the 4x4 doesn't know by now that feeding the horses is illegal and dangerous. If you want these horses to be here next year when you vacation, and in five years, a decade from now...it is up to you to follow the rules and help keep them safe. The horses face so many challenges to their survival that we can't control. Everyone who visits needs to start doing a better job of not putting them into unnecessarily dangerous situations.
We realize that we are largely preaching to the choir by posting here, but maybe if the message is shared widely enough it will hit the people who really need to see it. It's not even Memorial Day yet, and we are already extremely concerned for the rest of the summer. If you are on the 4x4 and you witness someone feeding, petting, or putting themselves or the horses in danger, please call 252-232-2216 so that a deputy can be dispatched to the location. They will also let us know so that we can keep an eye on any horses that may have been fed.
There are lots of resources available in our Community Toolkit: https://www.corollawildhorses.com/community-wild-horse-toolkit/ Homeowners, please consider placing information in your houses so that your renters know the rules and why they are important.
Hopefully 2022 is the first year in a few that we do not have to remove or euthanize a choking horse, but based on the behavior we've seen so far this spring, it's not looking promising. Please don't be the reason a horse dies or has to be taken out of the wild. Just follow the rules, watch the horses in their natural environment without interfering with them, and treat this place the same way you would treat your own home. It's not asking a lot of you, but it means a LOT to the horses.
(Pictured is Danny, who was fed an apple and subsequently choked and died in 2020. He was only a year old.)
