The wild horse herds on the Outer Banks of North Carolina are just one more unique feature to this stunning part of the eastern seaboard. But their presence has to be monitored and controlled to prevent injury to the horses and the humans who live and visit the area.
For one chestnut mare, an injury meant that her life as a wild horse was over. The herd is managed by a non-profit called the Corolla Wild Horse Fund and the group got word from a local resident that there was an injured horse near her home. The group organized a rescue of Blossom, an aged mare that they found was unable to bear weight on her left front leg. The pain was enough to prevent her from keeping with her herd. A treating vet said that her lameness, coupled with her advanced age, required treatment, and Blossom was removed from the wild.
Luckily, the Corolla Wild Horse Fund recently purchased a 31-acre facility in nearby Grandy which they have used to rescue injured or sick mustangs since 2014. Blossom was relocated to this farm, where x-rays and a physical exam found she had torn a ligament in her leg. The group posted on their Facebook page, “We believe that she got caught up in something and tore the ligament trying to get free, or possibly twisted it walking through deep sand. She was seen earlier in the day and was fine, and we have absolutely no reason to believe she was struck by a vehicle or anything like that. The group [of horses] had been behind the dunes on private property for most of the day.”