Thursday, September 28, 2023
By Outer Banks Voice on February 20, 2022
(Corolla Wild Horse Fund)
The Corolla Wild Horse Fund posted this message on its Facebook page on the afternoon of Feb. 20 in what it called “an effort to dispel rumors being posted in local Facebook groups.” Those rumors apparently were connected to the recent passing of a stallion from natural causes.
Here is the message.
On Tuesday evening our vet euthanized a stallion who was in his mid-twenties and who had been under close observation by our staff and our vet for the last couple months as it had become clear he was approaching the end of his life. We are incredibly grateful that he went down somewhere we could spot him, and that we could help him pass quickly and with dignity. He was respectfully buried in a quiet place right where lived his entire life.
We strive to be as transparent as possible and are always happy to address concerns and answer questions. There was nothing tragic or untoward about this case. This stallion lived a wonderful, long life in the wild and died as peacefully as death can ever be.
Sometimes we don’t immediately post about these things on Facebook for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, the staff that is on the ground, caring for these horses are the same staff that are managing social media. Sometimes we just need a bit of time to process our loss and prepare ourselves for the questions and comments — even the positive ones.
There are a host of other stakeholders that have to be notified of these incidents before anything is said publicly as well, and sometimes that takes a day or two. But we can assure you that we always strive to be transparent.
These horses belong to all of us, and we do not take for granted your investment and support for the work we do. There are many ways to get in touch with us and we do our absolute best to respond to all inquiries.
Instead of looking for tragedy and wrongdoing where there is none, let’s just take a minute to reflect on the life this horse led and the legacy he’s left behind. Rest easy, old man. Every time we see the full moon rising over the ocean we will remember you, and the night we helped you pass on to be with all your ancestors that came before you.
Comments
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Martha R Fletcher
Thank you for being good stewards of our wild horse population. Life as a wild animal is hard but add on the pressures of well meaning people and it’s even harder.
Kevin Conner
You just can’t satisfy everyone no matter what you do. I am grateful for your dedication and If it were not for your steadfast care, these horse would have likely disappeared from the Outer Banks landscape decades ago.