 |
 Photographing
the Wild Horses of Corolla -
Bring
your camera or video cam so you can take home memories of these wonderful wild
mustangs to share with friends. A bit of good luck, pleasant weather and a four-wheel
drive are usually all you need to find at least a few of the wild Spanish mustangs.
Of course, all the beautiful weather and good luck in the world won't do you
any good unless you have access to a vehicle capable of driving through the deep
sand of the beach and sandy roads north of Corolla.
 Even
with a proper vehicle, during a one-hour trip on any
given day, you should expect to have less than a 50/50
chance of seeing wild horses on the beach like these
lucky folks in the photo
at left. The random chances of spotting horses
on the back roads are even less. The more time you can
spend on the beach or driving around, the greater your
chances become of spotting horses. For those folks with
limited vacation time to spend searching for the horses,
or who simply don't have a four-wheel drive vehicle to
use, the very practical options are to take a guided
tour or rent a vehicle. With the right tour company,
you can even get the best of both worlds. At the very
least you are usually guaranteed to see some of the horses.
|
click
to enlarge |
| Our
tour guide explains the rules, and
provides a history lesson and many
interesting facts about the wild
mustangs. |
|
After
six consecutive years, encompassing at least
sixteen weeks on the Outer Banks, with something
like two dozen trips north of Corolla to see, enjoy
and photograph the wild Spanish mustangs, I know
what my chances are to find them on any given day.
The fact is I've virtually given up looking on
the back roads. I found that a few hours spent
sitting on the beach, with my camera gear handy
next to
me in my truck, patiently watching for the horses
by the ocean gives me more pleasure. I also realized
that I much prefer photos of the horses either
on the beach or on the beach dunes, especially
with
the
ocean in the background. But I come prepared for
it, bringing along plenty of time and patience for the
task.
 |
| Rick,
our
tour guide, gives last minute instructions to a customer driving a rented jeep with his family aboard. |
|
For some time I had been
curious about the guided wild horse tours, wondering if they had access to areas
the general public did not. In October of 2009 I had the opportunity to take
a tour with Wild Horse Adventure Tours. The weather was pleasant that day, so
Instead of their roomy SUV tour I opted for the
open jeep tour with their sister company, Rick's
Jeep Adventures. As a serious photographer I wanted
every opportunity
to get quick shots without dealing with windows. I wasn't really sure how much
chance I would have to get out for photos. As it
turned out, I found that I needn't be concerned
about missing good shots. We had ample opportunity
to get out and take photos whenever we wished.
 |
| Here Rick insures the kids and their car seats are properly strapped in. |
|
Once we reached the beach, we were soon driven behind the dunes
south of Penny's Hill, and followed around the huge dune.
It was immediately apparent our guide was very familiar with every dip, twist
and
turn
on these easily confusing sandy paths, and knew the best places to look. With
experienced knowledge of the horses habits, down to which family groups were
likely to be found in which areas, I understood their advantage in locating the
wild mustangs. Rick, our guide, also knew which areas were actually private,
and efficiently navigated us through the unfamiliar maze of dirt roads. I was pleasantly surprised by the comfortable ride too. I had expected the open Jeep ride to be stiff and bouncy, but that was hardly the case at all. I can
also attest to the fact it is far easier to look for the horses when you're not having
to drive yourself.
 |
| We
came across a family group grazing far back off the beach, accompanied
by cattle egrets. This is one sight you will only find on the back roads. |
|
We eventually came back onto the beach without spotting any horses. We skirted around the closed wildlife reserve area watching for horses on the beach before heading over the dunes again, combing the back paths for the often elusive wild mustangs. I noted how our guide did not waste time driving around
on the more obscure roads where I had spent so much time wandering in the
past
without
much luck. He often pointed out the horses tracks to us and was obviously following
clues
the same way I did, just more efficiently.
Our guide's skilled knowledge of the horses habits and interactions became
most apparent when we reached the area around the Carova Fire and Rescue Station.
 |
| We found this stallion enjoying wild persimmons, another sight you will not find on the beach. |
|
While we were busily taking photos of a small family group
grazing across from the station, Rick alerted us and pointed to a horse some
distance
down
the
road.
He explained
how the stallion was acting and said there would likely be some confrontation
between that stallion and the stallion with the family group we were watching.
Although
it
looked quite inconspicuous to us, he quickly proved to be right. In less than
a minute the two stallions confronted each other, snorting, whinnying, prancing
and scufflling. The interfering stallion soon gave up and went his way, but
the incident confiirmed our guide's ability to read and understand the horses actions
and activities.
 |
| We found one last group of horses strolling the beach as we neared the end of our two-hour tour. |
|
After that it was time to head back to the Wild Horse Adventure Tours office,
so we once again hit the beach. Along the way we came across another family group
out by the ocean waves and stopped for photos. Rick filled us in on more interesting
information about the wild mustangs and answered our questions. All in all we
saw at least a dozen wild horses on our tour.
I learned that the secret to nearly
always
finding the wild horses
was
not
some
special
private areas to which the tour guides had access. The secret was just good old-fashioned
knowledge
and familiarity with the horses and their habits, the sort of thing you only
learn from experience.
I found the folks at Wild Horse Adventure Tours and Rick's Jeep Adventures to
be personable, helpful and knowledgeable. They made the often frustrating task
of locating some of the wild mustangs of Corolla as easy as letting an experienced
guide do
the
driving. |
|
|
|
