An Outer Banks wild horse died of an apparent broken neck Thursday evening after an encounter with an aggressive stallion.
Around 5 p.m., witnesses in Carova saw a stallion chasing and trying to breed with the horse, a 12-year-old wild mare called Caroline.
The mare then fell to the ground and died “nearly instantaneously,” said Meg Puckett of the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, which manages the herd of about 100 Spanish mustangs roaming the northern beaches in Currituck County.
The herd veterinarian performed a field necropsy and found that Caroline’s neck had been broken. She showed no other injuries or abnormalities.
“Blood was taken and will be processed but we do not anticipate finding any abnormalities there either,” Puckett said.
Caroline’s injury was in line with the behavior witnesses reported and appeared to be the result of natural wild horse behavior.
“Caroline’s death should serve as yet another reminder of just how truly wild and dangerous these horses are, especially when hormones are involved,” Puckett said.
Kari Pugh, [email protected]
