Wild Mustangs of the Outer Banks

I’ve long had a dream of photographing the wild mustangs on North Carolina’s Outer Banks.  What could be better than watching those magnificent animals running free along the shore of the North Atlantic Ocean?  I had tried to find the mustangs many times in the past, both with groups of other photographers and on my own.  Yet, until recently, my searches were unsuccessful.  Granted, the Outer Banks are beautiful and reason enough to visit this area, but it was the mustangs that I wanted to capture with my camera.  Finally, my dream came true, and I had an incredible encounter with these elusive creatures in Currituck County.

The horses on the Outer Banks are thought to be the descendants of Spanish mustangs that swam ashore from a wrecked ship off the coast of North Carolina.   Some may also be descendants of Spanish mustangs purchased by the British and abandoned when the English settlement disappeared.  They have survived more than 400 years in the wild.  Native Americans and British settlers have come and gone; the islands themselves have shifted and changed over time; but the horses have lived on. They tell a story of history and survival.  In truth, humans are encroaching on the horses’ space. We are building more and more homes, and the wild spaces that belonged to the horses for so long are disappearing.

My husband Martin and I planned to spend 10 days on the Outer Banks. Martin is an amateur photographer, and we enjoy travelling and photographing together. The day of our search for the horses was cloudy, and rain was forecast for late in the afternoon. The light was soft and beautiful. Now all we had to do was find the horses before the bottom fell out of the sky. With the help of a local guide, we were able to locate a herd of about 20 horses grazing on the backside of the dunes.

Several hours and hundreds of images later, Martin was ready to head back.  As I reluctantly gathered my gear, the horses began to move over the dunes towards the beach. The clouds shifted and parts of the sky turned blue. If Martin was going back now he would have to leave without me.  These were my dream shots. I had done my research, located the mustangs, and watched and waited until the horses did exactly what I had hoped they would do. The day could not have been more perfect.

I’ve long had a dream of photographing the wild mustangs on North Carolina’s Outer Banks.  What could be better than watching those magnificent animals running free along the shore of the North Atlantic Ocean?  I had tried to find the mustangs many times in the past, both with groups of other photographers and on my own.  Yet, until recently, my searches were unsuccessful.  Granted, the Outer Banks are beautiful and reason enough to visit this area, but it was the mustangs that I wanted to capture with my camera.  Finally, my dream came true, and I had an incredible encounter with these elusive creatures in Currituck County.

The horses on the Outer Banks are thought to be the descendants of Spanish mustangs that swam ashore from a wrecked ship off the coast of North Carolina.   Some may also be descendants of Spanish mustangs purchased by the British and abandoned when the English settlement disappeared.  They have survived more than 400 years in the wild.  Native Americans and British settlers have come and gone; the islands themselves have shifted and changed over time; but the horses have lived on. They tell a story of history and survival.  In truth, humans are encroaching on the horses’ space. We are building more and more homes, and the wild spaces that belonged to the horses for so long are disappearing.

My husband Martin and I planned to spend 10 days on the Outer Banks. Martin is an amateur photographer, and we enjoy travelling and photographing together. The day of our search for the horses was cloudy, and rain was forecast for late in the afternoon. The light was soft and beautiful. Now all we had to do was find the horses before the bottom fell out of the sky. With the help of a local guide, we were able to locate a herd of about 20 horses grazing on the backside of the dunes.

Several hours and hundreds of images later, Martin was ready to head back.  As I reluctantly gathered my gear, the horses began to move over the dunes towards the beach. The clouds shifted and parts of the sky turned blue. If Martin was going back now he would have to leave without me.  These were my dream shots. I had done my research, located the mustangs, and watched and waited until the horses did exactly what I had hoped they would do. The day could not have been more perfect.