Frequently Asked Questions

An Open-Air Adventure Tour is a 2 hour, off road excursion in our custom-built open-air vehicles which take you through the maritime forest, marsh and beach ecosystems of Corolla’s northern Outer Banks in search of the wild Banker Horses.

While sightings can’t be guaranteed because these are wild, free-roaming animals, our guides know the herds’ territory and habits well, and an overwhelming majority of our tours find horses.

The tour runs approximately 2 hours and includes round-trip off-road transportation, a guided narration on Banker Horse history and Outer Banks ecology and access to the Wild Horse Sanctuary in Swan Beach. Our exclusive transportation access to the Wild Horse Sanctuary in Swan Beach means you may see these horses in a landscape almost nobody else reaches. Be sure to arrive 30 minutes early to complete your check in and waivers. If you will have a child in your party who needs a car seat, please bring it with you and we will have you install it into one of our tour vehicles prior to our departure.

Yes! This is one of the few Outer Banks activities built for all ages. Every seat has a seatbelt and child-restraint compatibility and our guides pace the tour with information and fun facts for the young and young at heart.

We recommend booking in advance, especially for tours in peak season (May – September) when tours are typically sold out each day. Same-day availability occasionally does happen, but is not guaranteed.

Dress for wind and sun. A light jacket or windbreaker may make you more comfortable.

Sunglasses, sunscreen are also recommended. Our vehicles do have an overhead canopy, but there are no windows on the sides of the vehicle for better viewing of the horses.

Don’t forget your camera or smartphone with plenty of storage for Banker horse pictures too!

Car seats are legally required in order for children to take a tour if they are under 8 years old or 80 pounds. There are no age restrictions to take a tour, however, children cannot sit in a parent’s lap; you must bring their car seat. All of our vehicles are equipped with the latch system in order to provide a safe and stable tour for the young ones! (Plus, being raised up makes horse viewings easier for smaller children).

We only allow ADA Complaint service animals trained to perform a specific task. We cannot allow emotional support animals or pets.

We do not guarantee that you will see horses, as they are wild animals and are not tagged. However, our tour guides are well trained and know where to look for the horses depending on the time of day and weather conditions. Feel free to give us a call and ask about recent horse activity.

A portion of every tour supports the ongoing conservation and monitoring work that keeps the Corolla herd protected and wild. Booking with Wild Horse Adventure Tours allows us to contribute a portion of our sales to the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, which is the nonprofit that helps to manage, care for and protect the herd.

Tours are approximately 2 hours long including travel time to and from the beach. The meeting point is at our office. In addition to this, we require you to be here 30 minutes before your scheduled tour time.

Tipping is not required, but it is appreciated and customary for guests who feel their guide went above and beyond. Most guests tip 15% – 20%, similar to other guided tour experiences.

We ask that all patrons use the facilities prior to the tour departure, and we do understand that emergencies happen, but we do not typically stop on a tour for a restroom break. Please try to plan accordingly.

We do not suggest anyone who is pregnant take our tour. Although we try to provide the smoothest ride possible, this is an off-road excursion with varying driving conditions. We ask for you to consult your doctor and do require you to sign an additional waiver if you decide to participate in our tour.

Tours run in rain since the vehicles are open-air but weather-adapted with an overhead canopy. In the case of severe weather, we will contact you to reschedule or will provide a refund. Check your confirmation email for real-time updates.

There is no best time! Although searching for wild animals is an unpredictable feat, our guides are extensively trained on tracking the wild mustangs. It’s recommended that you choose the date and time of the day for your tour based on your party’s preference. Good news is, since it is illegal to feed the wild horses, their search for food keeps them on the move from sun up to sun down.

Our office and tour location is 610 Currituck Clubhouse Drive, Corolla, NC 27827. Plan your route and account for traffic during peak season (May – September). We run tours on a tight schedule and can not hold a tour for late arrivals.

We are located in the town of Corolla, the northern end of the OBX. Click here for directions.

Since there are so many harems and horses all over the beach and they are free to roam as they please, any time of day is a great time to see the horses. Our guides do a great job of knowing where the horses are typically spending their time at various points throughout the day.

Depends on what you are looking for! We suggest Lighthouse Bagels and Deli, Corolla Cantina, and Mama Easley’s for places in Corolla. If you are driving back south, Cravings and Roadside in Duck are top-notch food joints! Activities-wise, the Corolla Beach lighthouse is right up the road neighboring a free wildlife museum. Also, Corolla Adventure Park is a ropes/obstacle course up the road that is a hit among kids and their families! Feel free to give us a call for any local suggestions.

Yes, for the best in Outer Banks Vacation Rentals we recommend Twiddy & Company.

From stem to stern, north to south, the Outer Banks of North Carolina is made up of 10 small towns, starting north: Corolla, Duck, Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head, Manteo, Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton, Frisco, Hatteras, and Ocracoke.

Corolla is known for its miles of beaches, as well as its array of restaurants, shops, and historic attractions. Corolla is also the home of several popular Outer Banks attractions, including the Currituck Beach Lighthouse, the Whalehead Club, the Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education, and the Wild Horse Museum. Most of all, Corolla is home to about 100 Banker horses. They are located on a 12,000-acre (49 km²) animal sanctuary situated north of the populated areas of Corolla. Over fifty thousand people come to see these wild horses every week in the summer months.

Corolla is an unincorporated community located in Poplar Branch township, Currituck County, North Carolina along the northern Outer Banks.

A Banker horse is wild, free-roaming horse breed that descended from Colonial Spanish Mustangs, found only on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The Corolla herd is one of the last truly wild, genetically pure populations left in the country.

Historians believe Banker Horses descend from Spanish mustangs brought to the Outer Banks by explorers in the 1500’s, either shipwrecked or intentionally left to graze on the barrier islands. Their descendants have lived here, wild, ever since

Yes, Banker horses are a recognized strain of Colonial Spanish Mustangs, one of the purest surviving bloodlines of the horses the Spanish brought to the Americas.

No. Clydesdales are very lazy horses, and they eat a lot. They were specifically bred to pull heavy loads, not to carry weight or run fast. Though, like any other horse breed or individual horse, with the right mental training and time to develop the important muscles for carrying weight (as opposed to pulling it, in this case), they can make excellent ridden horses.

Yes, Banker horses in Corolla are protected under North Carolina and federal law, and it is illegal to approach, feed or touch them. People must stay at least 50 feet away at all times.

Banker horses have adapted over centuries to graze on marsh and dune grasses and drink from shallow freshwater pools they dig themselves, allowing them to survive with minimal fresh water and forage.

Since the Banker horses have been living for hundreds of years on the beach, they have adapted over the years. They tend to seek higher ground and hide amongst the trees during storms and reemerge once the storms have passed.

Banker horses are wild animals and can be unpredictable if approached, which is why people are told to only observe them from a safe and legal distance. Our guides know how to position for a close view without disturbing the herd.

The Corolla Wild Horse Fund, a local nonprofit, manages the herd’s health, population and protection in partnership with Currituck County. Supporting responsible tourism, like our tours, is one of the ways visitors can help fund that work.

No, there are no truly wild horses in England. However, there are herds of free-roaming ponies that live in wild conditions in various protected areas, such as The New Forest, Dartmoor, and Exmoor.

Horses are not predators. The only case in which they become a threat to humans is when they feel that you are a threat to them. Even if they feel threatened, their first instinct is to evade the danger.

The early wild horse was native to North America, but it got extinct. Current wild horses in America came from Spain in the 15th century. Ships sailing for the New World had to bring with them a certain number of stallions and mares. Most likely the Banker horses we know today are descended from Spanish horses that were bred in Central and South America, as modern science indicates with the presence of genetic marker Q-ac.

Horses can attack. Generally, equines are fairly peaceful and don’t start fights, but will defend themselves if threatened or frightened.

They do not drink brackish or saltwater. The average horse will intake 5 to 10 gallons of freshwater per day.

The horses we see today and their original ancestors are technically not native to North America. Similar to equine species that were native to North America, their original ancestors went extinct along with some other ancient mammals during the ice age. In 1493 on his second voyage to the Americas, Columbus brought Spanish horses to the Virgin Islands, and, in 1519, they were reintroduced on the continent, in modern-day Mexico. From there they spread throughout the American Great Plains, either escaping from their owners or by being stolen by thieves.

Coyotes are more of a threat to foals, as they are reluctant to attack a full-grown horse except out of desperate hunger, and even then, they do so in large packs.

If you get too close to the horses and they feel threatened enough for their fight-or-flight response to be triggered. They may defend themselves by charging, kicking, or biting. If you see any of the following, stay away: swishing tail (irritation), pawing (frustration), stamping (irritation/frustration), ears pinned flat (anger/aggression), white eyes (anger/fear).

Horses are herd animals, most of them really appreciating company, even if it is not a horse (a goat, donkey or another small animal may work).

Horses not only remember people who have treated them well, but research shows they also understand words better than expected.

They do, but little is currently known about the migration patterns of wild horses. The GPS collars are the latest in wildlife tracking technology and will allow the researchers to get real-time information on the animals via a satellite.

Wild horses, and their cousins like zebras and wild donkeys, do not need shoes even though they often live in harsh, punishing, rocky environments. They were formed by natural evolution and natural selection made sure their feet can sustain the harsh environment they live in.

Wild horses have been a part of the Canadian west for hundreds of years. There are currently wild horses living in the Chilcotin region of British Columbia and parts of Saskatchewan, including a population of protected wild horses in the Bronson Forest.

Horses in the wild don’t need their hooves trimmed because they wear them down walking around all day long. Domesticated horses need their hooves trimmed because they are kept confined and well-fed, making it unnecessary for them to travel long distances in search of food and water. Because of that, their hoof growth outpaces the rate at which they can wear them down on their own.

Horses are much better adapted to the cold weather than we give them credit for. They grow an excellent winter coat that insulates them and keeps them warm and dry down to the skin.

They often cover 10-20 miles in a day, just to meet their needs for food and water.

The largest population of wild horses is in Australia, estimated at around 400,000 horses. The USA has around 75,000-80,000 wild horses, while all other populations around the world are significantly smaller. It is very hard to estimate the total number of wild horses.

The Corolla herd has approximately more than 100 horses living on the Currituck Outer Banks.

The mustang population is under strain. There are 67,000 wild horses on some 27 million acres of federally managed land. As recent as 2005, there were more than 80,000 mustangs.

Yes, feeding wild horses is prohibited by law in most states they live in. Over the years several horses have died as a result of being fed by humans. Even food that domestic horses can usually tolerate, like apples and carrots, can be harmful to the wild horses. When they ingest apples, carrots, or other non-native foods, they are at great risk for painful colic at best and death at the worst.

Depending on their ancestors, there are many breeds of modern wild horses. Some of them are:

• Banker horse on the Outer Banks of North Carolina
• Brumby, the wild horse of Australia
• Garrano, a wild horse native to Portugal
• Misaki horse in Japan
• Mustang in western USA
• Kaimanawa horse from New Zealand
• and many more!

Wild horses eat a very specialized diet of sea oats, coarse grasses, acorns, persimmons, and other native vegetation.

Ears automatically pin back whenever the horse feels particularly threatened or angry. When a horse is mad, the whites of its eyes may be visible and the teeth are usually showing. When a horse’s ears are back, it can also mean that the horse is concentrating.

Thoroughbreds are considered the fastest horses in the world and dominate the horse racing industry, while Arabian horses are known to be intelligent and excel in endurance riding. Quadruple the length and the Arabian beats the Thoroughbred. Quadruple the length one more time while most Western Mustangs (wild horses) beat the Arabian.

Secretariat, an American Thoroughbred racehorse, in 1973, was to become the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years. The fastest horse on dirt from 1 3/16 to 1 5/8 miles in history. Although Quarter Horses, American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances, attains higher speeds over shorter distances than Thoroughbreds.

Very small, in the case of the USA, it is around 10% or less. The horse population in the US is more than 10.31 Million and the number of wild horses is around 80,000.

When talking about the USA, wild horses can be found in North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming. In most of these states, wild horses populate so-called Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Herd Management Areas as well as territories under the management of the United States Forest Service.

The researchers have traced the origins of horse riding back to the Botai Culture of Kazakhstan circa 5,500 years ago.

Australia has the largest population of wild horses in the world, their number exceeding 400,000. There are also isolated populations of wild horses in a number of other places, including Sable Island off the coast of Nova Scotia, Portugal, Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, India, North Carolina, etc.

Most of the mustang populations are found in the Western states of Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming, Utah, Oregon, California, Arizona, North Dakota and New Mexico. Some also live on the Atlantic coast and on islands such as the Sable, Shackleford, Assateague and Cumberland Islands.

Nevada is home to more than half of the wild horse populations in North America.

Despite an apparent absence of horse remains between 7000 BC and 3500 BC, there is evidence of its presence in Britain after it became an island separate from Europe by about 5,500 BC.