Two facts about wild horses: they’re ugly and boring.
If an average domesticated horse is like a pure-bred, show-quality canine then their wild counterparts are the hair-falling-out, rib-showing, flea-ridden mutt that even the biggest animal lover won’t dare bring home.
The only thing the horses on Shackelford Banks did each day was eat grass slowly wandering around the island. No gallups, fights or anything mind blowing. By far the most exciting thing I saw one do was roll on the ground for about 15 seconds. After nearly dropping my camera in shock, I fired off at least 15 photos before he got up and resumed eating grass.
Still, wIld horses are amazing to see in person. There’s nothing like waking up in your tent, scanning the horizon and seeing a nearby harem (horse lingo for group).
The horses of Shackelford Bank are the oldest in the United States (they’ve lived on the island for about 400 years) and are one of the few groups on the East Coast. Experts think this group of 124 are the ancestors of ones that survived a Spanish ship wreck in the 1600s because their DNA matches a herd found near Barcelona.
As boring as these horses were, I will give them respect. Shackelford Banks is a barrier island and every decade or so a hurricane anniliates all nine-square miles. There’s little vegetation and no shade. Fresh water and food is scarce and the horses have developed a whole host of techniques to survive.
