There’s something about seeing a wild horse on the Outer Banks that just never gets old. The wild Banker horses of Corolla, descendants of Spanish mustangs, are an important part of what makes the region special, and visitors and locals never tire of seeing them in their natural habitat in the 4WD area north of Corolla.
If you’re planning to go looking for them, there’s a right way to do it. The sand can be soft and difficult to drive on, the routes can be confusing and the horses themselves are legally protected. The best way to safely see the horses is on a guided tour with an experienced guide, which is exactly what you get with Bob’s Wild Horse Tours.
A true staple of the Northern Outer Banks, Bob’s was the first horse tour company to have open-air, safari-style tour trucks. Their longstanding ties to the area show up in other ways too. Bob’s Wild Horse Tours is not owned by an out-of-state company but rather by a local couple – Bob and Wendy White. In business since 1996, Bob’s Wild Horse Tours is the only company still truly owner-operated. Bob and Wendy can be found in business chatting with guests, and they represent the legacy of family-owned businesses with strong community connections that make the Outer Banks what it is.
Bob, better known around town as Corolla Bob, has earned that nickname over the years through his involvement in the community and his decades-long role of helping protect the horses. Spend a little time with him and his team, and it’s clear their business is extremely personal.
The tours themselves are relaxed, informative and fun. Along with driving you around safely to look for the horses, the guides also share stories about the herd, the land and the history of the Northern Outer Banks. Some of it is fact, some of it is local lore and all of it makes the ride more interesting.
Their focus on customer experience continues to evolve. Bob’s Wild Horse Tours is currently in the middle of a two-year plan to replace its traditional trucks and roll out something new. The latest model starts as a Jeep and is transformed into a custom safari-style vehicle. It seats 12 people under a canopy, with bench seating designed so everyone has a clear view. It feels a bit more open, a bit more connected.
“It’s a really cool design, with unique viewing and different seating,” Bob says. “It gives a more personal experience because it’s open all the way to the back, and the driver is right there with you. The guide is accessible for questions and more back-and-forth conversation.”
During the tour, the guide also makes plenty of stops along the way, so you’re not rushing through the sand and missing the landscape. When you do spot a horse, there’s plenty of time to take it in, snap a few photos from a distance and just observe them at their most wild. The whole tour runs about two hours, but be tween the ocean breeze and the changing scenery, it tends to go by pretty quickly.
And the setting really is part of the experience. Driving along the beach in an open-air truck, salt air in your face, dunes and the ocean stretching out on either side, feels far removed from everyday life, even in a place like the Outer Banks.
These horses have been here for roughly 400 years, and keeping them here for the next 400 is something the team at Bob’s Wild Horse Tours takes seriously.
One of the biggest challenges right now is the push for development and infrastructure in the 4WD area. As more homes are built, the horses lose their habitat and have more contact with people, which can create serious problems for both.
“Land preservation is the big deal right now,” White says. “We have to give the horses space or they will face big issues with human interaction.”
That’s where the Corolla Wild Horse Fund comes in. The organization manages the herd from a distance and has created a Habitat Preservation Initiative focused on protecting the land the horses rely on. The total habitat covers more than 7,500 acres, and the goal is to keep as much of that space open and undeveloped as possible.
Using information they’ve collected on how the horses move and graze, the Fund has identified a key area for the horses that’s especially important. Since 2015, they’ve secured nine parcels within that region, including some donated specifically for conservation.
It’s a good start, but there’s still more to do.
“More work has yet to be done,” says White, who is the chair of the nonprofit Corolla Wild Horse Fund board of directors. “We need to secure hundreds of acres.”
Protecting that land takes funding, and the Corolla Wild Horse Fund continues to raise money through donations and charity. That’s another place where Bob’s Wild Horse Tours ties into the bigger picture. When you book a tour online, you have the option to donate to the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, and Bob and Wendy match those contributions. It’s a simple way for visitors to help protect the horses they’ve come to see. In the end, it really does feel like a win-win.
(252) 453-8602
817 B Ocean Trail, Corolla
corollawildhorsetours.com
About the Author Leah Wingenroth
Leah was born and raised on the Outer Banks and is an alumnus of Appalachian State University and King's College. She currently resides in England, writing and managing content in the lifestyle, education, travel and literary publishing sectors.
