COROLLA, N.C. — There's something powerful about seeing the Corolla wild horses in their natural habitat, but that's all we should be doing — looking at them, not approaching or interacting with them. As a new summer season begins, the Corolla Wild Horse Fund wants to reinforce that message.
"It's a beautiful thing to see them in their natural environment," said Teddy Garrow, who News 3 spoke with on the four-wheel-drive beach in the northern Outer Banks on Wednesday.
Garrow and his family are from outside Philadelphia and have been coming to the Outer Banks for the past seven years. It's clear they know their responsibilities when it comes to the wild horses.
"We have seven kids with us, and we always talk to the kids and say they're wild animals. You appreciate them from afar, It's a wild animal in its natural environment," said Garrow.
That's also the message the Corolla Wild Horse Fund is trying to reinforce as beaches get crowded again for the summer season.
"We want these horses to be accessible. It's very important to us that people are able to come and see them in their natural habitat. But we just want them to do it safely and respectfully," said Meg Puckett, director of herd management for the Corolla Wild Horse Fund.
The CWHF has been very clear on social media since summer started about the importance of that message this year. Puckett said she doesn't feel this year is any different than previous years, but sometimes visitors need to hear it again.
"Some of it is people just intentionally not caring what the rules are, but I think the majority of it is people don't want to be a problem, and they genuinely maybe not even don't know the rules, but they don't understand why the rules are so important. And so we really believe that education is key to keeping these horses safe, and so if people understand why it's so important, maybe that will help them follow the rules once they're up in the horse's habitat," said Puckett.
The laws prohibiting feeding and requiring people to stay back at least 50 feet from the horses are in place for a reason — not just to protect the horses but people as well.
"We want the horses safe, we want the people safe, you know. These horses are very large, they're dangerous, they're unpredictable. We lost a horse over the weekend to a kick from another horse, and you know it killed him instantly. So, imagine what that would do to a child or even an adult," said Puckett.
This year, the organization is trying to get the word out more about who they are and what their role is in protecting the herd.
"We're trying to do more education about our organization in general, and who we are, why we're out there. Maybe that will help people better understand the bigger picture," said Puckett.
At the end of the day, it's on all of us who live here and those who enjoy what the Outer Banks has to offer every year.
"Just enjoy them from a distance, take a picture, have them in the background, stand in the foreground, and just enjoy what it is. Because you won't see this anywhere else," said Garrow.
Anyone who sees people disrupting the horses or needs to report a horse injury is encouraged to call the Currituck County Sheriff's Office at (252) 453-3633.
For more information on the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, head to their Facebook here.
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