North Carolina’s Famous Wild Horses Emerge from Hurricane Florence Unscathed

North Carolina’s Famous Wild Horses Emerge from Hurricane Florence Unscathed

We’re thrilled to report that the herds of wild horses that roam North Carolina’s Outer Banks have emerged from Hurricane Florence unscathed.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Corolla Wild Horse Fund both confirmed on social media over the weekend that their equine populations are safe and sound following Hurricane Florence’s lashing last week.

Corolla Wild Horse Fund herd manager Meg Puckett told The News & Observer that the wild herd found higher ground and grouped together against the wind and rain. People on the island also kept an eye on them.

“So far it’s been business as usual for them, out grazing in all the normal spots,” Puckett said. “The horses are back out at all their usual haunts.”

Further South, Cape Hatteras National Seashore confirmed that their herd of ponies on Ocracoke Island fared well in the storm. “We are happy to announce that all of the Ocracoke ponies are safe and that the pony pen did not sustain any damage from Hurricane Florence,” the national park wrote alongside a photo of the ponies grazing happily.

Leading up to Hurricane Florence, Sue Stuska, a wildlife biologist based at Cape Lookout National Seashore, explained to the Associated Press that the horses are “highly sensitive to weather changes and instinctively know what to do in a storm.”

"Naturally, they are meant to be outside and they have high ground and they have thick places to hide," Stuska said. "Don't worry about them. They've survived for hundreds of years, and we expect that they'll be just fine."

We’re so glad she was right!