Hurricane Dorian: NC’s Wild Horses Know the Drill

OBX – With yet another strong hurricane approaching, preparations and anxieties predictably rose to the point that animal lovers began asking where they evacuated the Outer Banks’ wild horses during the storm. Seriously.

Nevertheless, the concern always brings up a good question, and answer, about what exactly the wild horses of the Outer Banks do when the glorified sandbars they call home are inundated by a major hurricane.

Turns out it’s pretty simple; they get as high as they can and huddle up under a sturdy grove of the banks’ iconic Live Oaks.

From Corolla to Shackleford Banks, these horses have been riding out hurricanes ‘butt to the wind’ for quite a while. The hardiness and perseverance of these animals after being dropped off or shipwrecked on a spit of sand in the Atlantic Ocean by colonial explorers half a millennium ago is fascinating. For perspective, imagine grabbing a dozen of your best buddies and huddling up together in the dunes and thickets of Shackleford Banks and riding out a hurricane.