Captivating Images of Wild Mustangs Galloping on the Crystal Coast

A herd of majestic wild horses appears to race against each other as they gallop freely through the shallow waters of the Crystal Coast. Captured by 39-year-old photographer Brad Styron, the horses are part of an isolated herd that roams across the Shackleford Banks in North Carolina.

They have free run of the small, uninhabited nine-mile-long by one-mile-wide island, which lies at the southern end of Cape Lookout National Seashore. Mr. Styron photographed the herd first by helicopter and then on foot, standing a mere 50 feet away.

Despite their majestic appearance, they are often mistakenly referred to as ponies, with adults reaching an average height of just 12 hands (four feet at the withers). By contrast, most saddle horses measure between 15 and 17 hands, and draft horses are usually at least 16 hands and can measure up to 18 hands.

Between 110 to 130 horses make up the wild herd, kept under control with occasional adoption enforced by the Foundation for Shackleford Horses in cooperation with the Park Service. The animals are thought to be descended from Spanish mustangs first brought to the Carolina coast by explorers in the early 1500s.

Left behind or turned loose from shipwrecks, they have survived in the harsh and unforgiving environment for almost half a millennium. They are now one of the few remaining wild horse herds in the eastern United States. Despite a mixed bloodline, they still clearly carry the tenacious traits of their wild Spanish Mustang roots and have become a legacy of the Crystal Coast.

Originally Posted By The Daily Mail