Spanish Horses Of Outer Banks

On the barrier islands of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, a herd of small feral horses known as Banker horses roams the dunes and marshes. Historians and genetic studies link these horses to Spanish stock brought during 16th-century voyages, shipwrecks, and early colonization attempts along the Atlantic coast. Over time, animals that survived wrecks or were left behind on the islands formed free-roaming herds that adapted to the harsh coastal environment.

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