Corolla Wild Horse Fund

The museum’s staff is knowledgeable and friendly. Learn about the history of the Corolla horses! Gift shop purchases benefit the non-profit fund to protect the island’s horses.

Corolla Wild Horse fund is a non profit that manages the wild herd of Corolla. They protect and document the horses. They also have a farm where they have some Corolla Banker Horses that have been removed from the wild herd because of health reasons. During the summer months you can visit the farm on Wednesdays from 10am- 2pm. It’s called mustang mornings and the suggested donation is $10 a car. If you have young kids who love animals or if you love animals it’s a must! We visited with our kids ( ages 7,5, and 3 ) and we had the best time! We got to learn about the wild heard in Corolla as well as hear the stories of all the horses on the farm. The kids got to interact with the horses- we even have a painting that one of the horses did for the kids. When you visit the wild herd in the 4 by 4 section of Corolla you cannot get any closer than 50 feet to the horses but at the farm you get to be close to them and pet them. At $10 dollars a car it’s a steal of a price! It really was a highlight of our vacation. Later that week we went out to the 4 by 4 section to see the wild horses but honestly going to the farm first enhanced that experience for all of us. The farm is the Betsy Dowdy Equine Center 102 young rider lane Grandy NC

Corolla wild horse rescue farm 🐴 is so healing for all 😃 The nicest people, they really care. I loved my visit at the farm 🐴 The people take great care of the horses. I enjoyed the video about the horses. Tells you about the people who work there also. That so touched my heart ♥ Rip tide & some of the other horses can paint! I need to go visit again & to purchase a painting 🎨 🐴 The farm is a great place to visit 🐴🫏🐈 to meet the horses and enjoy being in the country side 🐴🫏🐈🎨 By the way it's opened on wendesdays at 10am 🐴

Wife and I went here for part of our honeymoon. She enjoyed it even though she isn't into horses. Tour guide was awesome, and made us all laugh. The tour itself was almost more fun than when we saw the horses. He was knowledgeable and I could tell he loved his job, and the horses. Wife and I had fun, purchased some merchandise, and became a member. This is the only true wild horse nonprofit in the area. I love these guys and will be returning when I can. Highly recommend you go here and support these guys. The tour is a blast.

This place on the map is not the sanctuary. It’s the shop/mini museum and obviously run by lovely people that care. This whole area of Historic Corolla is beautiful but if you want to hang with the Mustangs it is a different location in Jarvisburg (hopefully I spelt that right). They do Mustang Mornings every Wednesday in the summer. Visit both! If you end up at this place you might as well check out everything else in the area and make a day out of it because it is worthwhile it.

Good people, great organization to help protect the wild horses here on the Outerbanks. Tour guide was very nice. Tour was done in a GMC Yukon which I was happy about considering how hot out it was and were not all jammed in like cattle in a humvee like we witnessed with other companies that did the same. Had a great time and encountered a lot of the horses up close and personal.

Our experience with the tour was incredible! Instead of booking tours off site, go directly to the source. It's almost half the price. The guides know EXACTLY where to find the horses. Even if they have to hunt them down (it doesn't take much) we learned such amazing history about the horses. Plus, I admire the fact that $ collected goes to helping protect these majestic creatures. We also got some amazing pictures.

Our tour guide was Doug and he was phenomenal. He was friendly, helpful, considerate and knowledgeable. We saw over 20+ horses and some dolphins. Highly recommend this tour. We had two kids (5 yr old and 2 year old) with us and they loved it. Their car seats clicked right into the latches - very secure. The sand blowing in their faces was a little uncomfortable for the 2 year old but it was quick. Maybe bring a small towel if your child is sensitive to these things. Overall, wonderful tour and would go back! Money well spent!

I went in to support the local horse fund. They have a small, I guess you can say, museum, to get the details on the wild horses. The staff are all very nice and knowledgeable about the horses. There is a gift shop where the proceeds go towards the fund.

Wow! I loved visiting here and participating in the Mustang Mornings. Learned a lot about the wild horses and the importance of giving them Their space to allow them to remain self sufficient in the wild. This place has caring staff who are passionate about taking care of the horses there and providing education on respecting the horses in the wild . This was an incredible experience .

Absolutely wonderful people doing God's work. Tons of lovely t-shirts, including "butts to the wind", souvenirs, toys and countless other items to support the Wild Horses of Corolla. Got a Breyers stuffed animal (horse, of course) as well as a donkey wallet, because why not? Anything to support this wonderful charity.

If you are near Corolla Beach, definitely make a point to stop here. They help take care of the wild horses, so they are pretty essential. My mom and I stopped here after going on a tour of Corolla Beach and spotting many horses. I wanted to browse the gift shop and museum and buy things to support the horses. They have some cool merchandise in there. They also have a pressed penny machine, which I love. There was everything you could imagine a gift shop would have. Also some cool things like lunch boxes, that you don't see everyday. We bought some t-shirts. Mine was tie dye. They also had calendars. Come here and get your souvenirs, instead of the prolific shops along the main road. Support the Corolla Wild Horse Fund! Support local!

This is review of the museum portion. Went for a tour with one of the for profit guide services earlier in the day. We had booked the tour before we found out about this non-profit service but in anycase, our tour in the morning had been excellent with a very knowledgeable guide, not only about horses but birds, history and the general area. The lady in the museum may have take offence with this because I have never encountered a more hostile docent. When every we asked a question, we were told we were wrong before we could complete the question. Case in point was the foal, William. Another case was the report out quide had given to one of their personnel regarding an injured stallion. We were told that it was impossbile for our guide to make a report because all of their people were off that day. After describing the truck and person, she admitted that it was one of their supervisors. We want to help the horses but everyone needs to cooperate. You can not do this in such a toxic enviroment. That said, I still made a small contribution to the vet bill fund. Would not recommend

The children like horses as most children seemingly do and this area is known for them in the same way that the Assateague area is known for them so it seemed natural that we would try and do a horse tour while in the area. Now there are numerous different companies in the area and the reviews both on this site but more importantly on Trip Advisor (many more in terms of quantity/quality) are all over the place as to good, bad or ugly. We picked CWHF for three very simple reasons: 1. They're open year round while most of the other area companies are not. 2. You can make a reservation online via their website very easily. 3. The reason why they are open year round is because they are the non-profit organization in charge on managing the area herd versus the other for profit companies, that from what we were told on the tour, to different degrees could care less about the horses because the tours for them are more or less just a big cash in. We chose the first tour of the day and it was full. The do have a vehicle that could be used on nicer days that would have you sitting outside but with it being cold and windy plus recent rains it would be two Suburbans, each seating six plus the driver. As a brief sidebar, they do have a museum plus a gift shop but we skipped all of the above as we barely had time to get checked in before leaving so while stuff like that does exist I can't speak to anything in terms of the quality of the offerings. We left promptly on time after getting a brief overview of the area, the herd, the hassle that the CWHF has in dealing with the Federal Government regarding the herd's size, encroachment from area development, idiots who try to lure horses onto their porches to feed them but then call the police or the CWHF for help when they won't leave, etc. After that it was just time to hit the beach and look for horses as our driver person X (they did not want their name used) took us down the beach quite a distance, through narrow sandy streets, near wetlands/impassable bogs, freshwater inlets and more. About an hour into things you stop at a park where you can get out to stretch your legs and/or to use a public bathroom at a small area park but other than that you are on the hunt all of the way almost to the fence that separates North Carolina from Virginia. From the gossip file, X showed us the house that Taylor Swift rents, where Tom Hanks used to own, where Morgan Freeman might own (he apparently still winters in the area) and of more local fame Dennis Anderson aka the founder of the Grave Digger monster truck (the house is easy to spot as nearly everything is green). We eventually saw maybe a dozen horses out in the tree lined bogs but mostly up in people's yards where they were eating the grass or just hanging out. None of them were terribly close and we never saw any on or near the beach. I'll skip the details but X did have plenty of derogatory things to say about the area for profit horse tour companies regarding stories he's heard regarding drivers giving out wrong information on everything from the types of horses in the area to the herd size to just about everything you can imagine just like the locals some of whom are supposedly highly annoyed that the tours roll by their houses multiple times a day and in season by multiple companies which I believe as there were plenty of "no horse tours allowed here" signs posted as we drove along. Overall, everything lasts about two hours, X was fun and engaging, we saw horses and helped to support a great cause. I would have no problem paying to do the tour again the next time we're in the area (June).

Great time. Wonderful for families. Once in a lifetime experience. Horses and beach were beautiful

We chose this tour because it's part of the non-profit that oversees the well-being of the horses. As we did this during off-peak season, it was just the two of us on the tour. Bill was fantastic and very knowledgable about the horses. We rode in a Tahoe up the beach and back into the canal area. Bill was able to find a significant portion of the herd during our tour. HIs enthusiasm and passion for the horses was obvious! I'd recommend anyone riding with Bill in the future.

The tour was wonderful. Our tour guide Bill was very knowledgable, made sure we were all happy and a sweetheart. Take this tour- you won't regret it!!! Don't fall for the hype of the other ones. They are the only ones that are working to help the horses and ensure they are here for years to come.

I did a lot of research to find a tour for Mom and I over Mother's Day week. This tour truly is the best. There are a maximum of 7 or 8 people. We had 6 including the driver,Bill. Bill took time to explain how to track the horses and why they appear in different places. We witnessed many different horses and harems. There was a foal born on Mother's Day and we tried to find the mom and colt but they were hiding after being harassed by some of the other tours the day before. The reports of it being a bumpy ride are true. Especially if you go at high tide. We had an elderly lady on our tour who had a touch of dementia and Bill had her up front with him and handled her questions with finesse without sacrificing the attention to the rest of the group or the drive. The scenery is beautiful with and without the horses! This tour was so worth it! Air conditioned suburban. We could power up the windows if it got to hot or to sandy. Love this group!

Definitely a must see place if you're in the Outer Banks region!! They know where most of the horses hide out and you're able to get within 50 feet of them (as the law). All the money they make goes back into their work they do for any injured horses they find.

I booked this tour for myself and my children with the assumption we would be riding in an open jeep since it was the middle of summer and a beautiful day. Instead we rode in the third row of a chevy Tahoe that the driver had to stop twice to prevent it was breaking down. My small children could not even see out the windows and had to either sit in their knees or sit on my lap. So for the majority of the ride, I had two children sitting on my lap. Once we started to see horses, I had to lift two of my children over the seat while the car was moving so they could look out the window. The guide was rude and would not stop the car since he was already annoyed that I complained about my children not being able to see out the windows. And he also refused to allowed me to get my kids boosters seats. We did see a few horses but were not permitted to exit the car like they tell you they will. I booked this tour because I was happy to give back to the protection of the wild horses, but can't help being regretful since all the other companies have all open jeeps to ride. Apparently it depends on when you book because there was a large group and others that rode in the jeep on our same tour. I would have like to know that in advance because I would have booked a different tour. I would not book this tour again and would not recommend this tour to others especially with kids. My kids were bored riding in the back of a car and would have loved the experience of the open jeep.

Wonderful tour! Fun and informative! The only tour operator who also cares for the horses and pays for the horses' veterinary bills since 1985. The other tour operators in the area don't donate a cent to these causes. They also lobby for legislation to protect the horses.

If you want to see the wild horses, I highly recommend you use this company who gives all profits back to the care of the wild horses. My driver was Chris, who is currently working on his Master's in tourism and sustainability. He was very knowledgeable on the horses and provided a lot of education on how important it is to respect both the horses and the community where they live. Because this company is non profit, they were allowed into certain areas of the beach that the tourist companies are not and we got to see some beautiful horses. I would definitely takes friends and family back here on my next vacation.

Come support this non profit organization! They do tours where they take you out on the beach to see these horses too. They switch their shop so it's not near the Corolla Visitor Center. The man up front was super friendly. Our tradition is buying one of the $15 wooden horses then painting it. Great thing to do in Corolla!

Had a wonderful tour of the wild horses, the museum is great. Will be back!

We recently experienced the Wild Horse Fund tour and can't say enough about how much we enjoyed it. From the beginning, in the museum, with the explanation of the fund and how important the work of it is, to our tour guide E.T, we were so pleased and affected by it. Can't say enough about E.T, who is also part of the Sanctuary Patrol Team, he was so knowledgeable about the safety of the horses and provided a lot of information about how important it is to respect both the horses and the community where they live. J.T spent a lot of time helping us understand the importance of their work and making sure we saw plenty of the beautiful horses. We were able to see 34 of the around 100 in total and were able to witness them in their own habitat. I wouldn't go to any of the other Wild Horse companies, after witnessing their disrespect first hand of the horses during our tour. I would highly recommend you use this company, and will now come back again and again.

There are plenty of other imposters in the area. They are the REAL DEAL! One of the highlights of my most recent family vacation was watching these incredible horses in a natural setting along the beachfront community. The entire Horse Fund staff was extremely knowledgeable and personable. All of the yelp reviews are correct --- this is as good as it gets!

Saw the wild mustangs with this group because they are the ones who care for, rehabilitate, and lobby for the herd. We were lucky and saw half of the herd in different locations.

Didn't do the tour because we stay in the area where the horses live but it was nice visiting the "museum". They have nice souvenirs but not much of a museum...that being said I'm kinda glad they put the money into the animals and not a fancy museum lol. Loved being able to see one of the horses that was up for adoption :) she was sweet.

The is the ONLY wild horse tour anyone should use to see the horses in Northern Corolla. Their mission is to help the horses whenever needed. This is a non-profit. Our tour guide was Roy, he's the best - full of stories and you can tell, he loves what he does. Worth every penny and be sure you visit the gift shop and the pulled pork place next door for lunch - try the ribs - excellent! and don't forget to ask for ROY!!!

We loved our vakay to OBX, but our time with Fran and Roy at the Wild Horse Fund was the absolute best. We always choose the conservation option when we are viewing animals or sea creatures, so we naturally chose this group over the for-profit horse tours. So, so glad we did. Fran and Roy are the married couple that operate the Fund. Fran is a former teacher with multiple master's degrees, who operates the gift shop and museum. She is charming, welcoming and authentically nice. Roy does the horse tour in a comfortable Chevy Suburban, but with so much more. He started with a 10 minute explanation of wild horses in Corolla, and elsewhere, replete with maps on the wall. He then drove us on the beach, where we saw 20 or so wild horses, and then behind the dunes, where we saw so many more. In addition, Roy gave us a tour w/commentary on the local architecture and local color. He's retired from telephone company, and knows everyone and everything there is to know about OBX. When we return to OBX, we will definitely do a repeat with Roy. Suggestion: when you book this tour, be sure to take Roy's tour. He doesn't do all of them and it's worth calling ahead.

Even better than we expected. We saw 30+ wild horses with the finale of four at the ocean. The narrative was very entertaining and informative! Roy will give you the local skinny and "that's just that".