Wild horses erupt in vicious brawl on Outer Banks beach as people stand and watch
A reputation for being untamed is part of the allure of the Outer Banks, but Carova Beach visitors got more than they bargained for when two wild horses attacked each other on the popular beach.
Video of the fight, captured by photographer Daniel Jackson, shows the stallions kicking and biting as a handful of people watch from a distance on the North Carolina beach. It has been viewed more than 133,000 times.
The brawl lasted about one minute and ended with the younger of the stallions vanquished to the ocean, where it stood chest deep in water until the victor and his mares moved on.
The Corolla Wild Horse Fund shared his video on Facebook over the Memorial Day weekend, as a warning to tourists headed to Outer Banks beaches.
“Breathtaking. And a good example of why it’s so important to give the horses plenty of space!” the nonprofit fund posted.
“It’s not uncommon to see stallions missing parts of ears, and most of them have at least one large scar from a fight. And while we don’t see it happen often, they can absolutely kill each other during fights like these. Imagine what they could do to a person who happened to get in the way.”
The two stallions were fighting over a female, and the fund predicts the young bachelor will continue picking fights until it gets what it wants.
Daniel Jackson of Corolla told McClatchy News he was out for a walk on the afternoon of May 6 when he witnessed the fight. It started when a young stallion trotted up to an older stallion and his harem of mares.
“I couldn’t believe it escalated so close to me and for once my phone video worked when I wanted it to,” Jackson said in an email.
“I’ve seen plenty of horse chases protecting the harem or their young, but never a physical confrontation. ... One stallion came up with a mouth full of mane hair after the first round, it sure looked like it hurt by the way they went to their knees a couple of times.”
The handful of people who stood by silently watching did not interrupt or try to intervene, according to Jackson, who said he stood 75 feet from the equine skirmish.
It was not clear if either of the horses suffered severe wounds, he added.
Like the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, Jackson is concerned tourists are straying too close to the horses, either to feed them or for selfies.
People are required by law to stay 50 feet from the herds of feral horses roaming the Corolla area, and to not interact with them if the horses approach in search of food.
“I’ve seen people walking right up to a horse like it’s their pet,” he said. “Tour companies are no better. They corner horses so their customers can get pictures.”
His video, with more than 2,000 reactions, was posted just a week after the Foundation for Shackleford Horses asked the public to help identify three men who chased a foal trying to get selfies.
That incident happened on the Shackleford Banks, part of Cape Lookout National Seashore, and the National Park Service said the month-old horse was endangered because it was separated from its mother during the ordeal. The mother and child eventually reunited, the park service said.
This story was originally published May 25, 2020 at 9:29 AM with the headline "Wild horses erupt in vicious brawl on Outer Banks beach as people stand and watch."