Rebecca took this photo during the inspection tour of the Corolla and Shackleford herds. This stallion was sunning himself in an opening in the live oaks. It was windy and he could not hear our approach or catch wind of us. We were as surprised as he was when we found ourselves in each other's company. He snorted and indignantly trotted off.
Not quite two years later he was found dead. He had been shot from such close range that the wadding of the shotgun shell was deep in his neck. This November will be four years since he was killed in the wild and no one has yet been charged, despite the large rewards offered for information leading to the apprehension of the shooter.
About 2% of the adult wild Corolla stallions died when that trigger was pulled. That is how close we are to the brink of extinction of what might be the oldest and rarest distinct genetic grouping of horses in America. There are none to loose. We have no excess horses. We have no surplus.
Over the years some of these horses were adopted and some mares from Corolla most certainly are in the possession of those who are interested in the preservation of these horses. I have not been able to obtain a list of adopters so they could be directly contacted and informed of the offsite breeding program and the availability of Corolla and a Shackleford stallions to breed to those mares at no cost.
This is one more reminder that this opportunity exists. If any of you have a Corolla
mare and would like to participate in the offsite breeding program next spring please get in touch with us.
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