One Wild Stallion hit and euthanized in 4WD area

Despite some miscommunication I wanted to update this post and confirm only one horse has been hit recently which is described below. Sorry for the confusion but it appears Wavy TV's report of the story wasn't exactly timely. Karen McCalpin of the CWHF confirmed the story was referring to the same incident, which still remains tragic enough.


Previous Post:

Over the weekend it appears one of the wild horses was hit and had to be put down. Executive Director, Karen McCalpin sent an email summarizing the events below:

I received a call from volunteer, Karen Gregory this morning at 8:30 regarding a stallion that appeared to be severely injured near the ramp to the Carova Fire Station. Many thanks to Karen who took the time to set up stakes and yellow tape to keep people back even though she was on her way to work. Shortly after that, I received a call from Deputy Robert McIntyre as well. Special thanks to Sanctuary Patrol officer and Board President, Kim Hoey, who was at the site around 9 a.m. and stayed until resolution. The stallion was completely unable to put any weight on his rear hind leg and by the amount of the manure present, had been there for quite some time. Kim was able to get some water to him and he drank. On the way up the beach, our vehicle broke down south of North Swan Beach. Special thanks to Denise Wells who made calls for me from her home After finally getting back to the office at 10:30, I spoke with the horse vet at Martin’s Point (it would have taken about 45 minutes for her to get to the site) and she declined to respond. Her suggestion was to call Animal Control. I then called Dominion and Dr. Bart Kite responded all the way from Chesapeake. He arrived at the Wild Horse Museum about 12 p.m. and we were onsite around 12:30. We are speculating that the tire tracks at the site, the location of the horse near the ramp, the extent of his injuries, and yesterday’s thick fog may have led to the horse being hit by a vehicle. No report, however, was made to the Sherriff’s Department or to the Corolla Wild Horse Fund.



Dr. Kite spent a great deal of time carefully assessing the extent and location of the stallion’s injuries. The horse was absolutely unable to move except to pivot around on his good hind leg. There was a tremendous amount of swelling in both the inside and outside of the stifle and hindquarters. There was a small bloody protrusion on the inside of the stifle that may have been splintered bone. It was determined that rescue was not an option, so the horse was humanely euthanized. Please know that this decision was very difficult and based solely on what was best for the horse. Even if we were able to somehow get him on the trailer, the prognosis was not good for recovery. Our highest praise goes to Dr. Kite, not only for coming all the way from Chesapeake to respond, but for his expertise, his patience, and most especially, his gentleness.



Additional thanks go to Greg Wilson for towing our trailer up the beach and staying until the end, as well as Brian O’Connor, Donnie Tadlock, Cameron Gray, Deputy McIntyre, my family, and another resident whose name I unfortunately don’t know. It is gratifying to see how many people care so deeply and are willing to do whatever is needed. I try to take comfort in the knowledge that without our intervention, the horse would have surely suffered a slow and agonizing death. Thank you all so much again for your help and support. A situation like this is heartbreaking.



Karen H. McCalpin

Executive Director

Corolla Wild Horse Fund

P.O. Box 361

1126 Schoolhouse Lane

Corolla, NC 27927

252-453-8002

www.corollawildhorses.org