Michaela Quinlan: Championing the Cause of Wild Horses

Wake Forest native Michaela Quinlan is a bit of a Renaissance woman. She rides jumpers competitively, is a fundraiser donating to causes that protect retired thoroughbred horses from slaughter, will be attending weekend math and science seminars at N.C. State, is active in her local 4-H, and advocates on behalf of the Corolla Wild Horse Protection Act.

And, Michaela is all of 11 years old.

Passion

Michaela inherited her love of horses from her mom, Ann Quinlan. She has been riding since she was 5 years old.

Three years ago, Michaela became involved in the 4-H program at Southern Oak Equestrian Center. Inspired by the book, “The 80 Dollar Horse” as part of her Cloverbud project (Cloverbuds are 4-H members ages 5-9), Michaela handmade and sold bracelets and necklaces to raise money to care for retired thoroughbreds — healthy horses, which would otherwise be sold to slaughterhouses.

Her efforts yielded her more than $1,000, which was donated to local farms Hope Reins and Jumping H Farms to aid those farms in caring for and/or finding homes for these magnificent animals.

Eyes to the Coast

Late in 2014, the now Junior 4-H member was looking for her next project. Michaela and Ann came across a story about the Corolla Wild Colonial Spanish Mustangs. Her research led Michaela to discover the horses are on the endangered list and that there is a bill in Congress that, if passed, could help ensure the horses' future with no costs to taxpayers.

The bill is currently stalled thanks to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a bureau of the Department of the Interior.

No one knows the origins of the mustangs that have run wild along the Outer Banks of North Carolina for more than 500 years. One popular theory is ancestors of the horses survived the wreck of a Spanish ship off the North Carolina coast, swimming to shore and living off the land.

There is no place else on the planet this particular breed of horse exists. At one time, there was estimated to be over 6,000 horses living along the N.C. coast. Due to coastal development, the herd is down to approximately 250 horses and is now separated in two different locations: Shackleford Banks and Corolla. The two herds are about 215 road miles apart.

According to Russ Ferguson in the Wall Street Journal Online article, “Federal Horse Play in North Carolina” posted March 30 of this year, “For those remaining horses, the future looks bleak. Development has separated the mustangs and they are now isolated in two different areas, one population in the northern part of the Outer Banks and one at the southern tip. Because of that, each population has become severely inbred. Debilitating birth defects are common and getting worse. Many newborns don’t survive and the population is dwindling, further exacerbating the problem.”

A Simple Enough Solution

The solution to the genetic problem seems simple enough. Move some of the horses so the herds can interbreed and strengthen both herds. There is already a privately funded non-profit organization, Corolla Wild Horse Fund, ready and able to oversee the moving of the horses within the two locations.

One would think since this is a state issue, state officials would be allowed to proceed with the simple enough solution.

One would be wrong.

Enter the federal government. According to Ferguson, “The Interior Department won’t allow the horses to be moved… The feds fear that the horses will creep further into the Currituck National Wildlife Refuge, intrude on ‘sensitive areas,’ and interfere with the birds and other animals there —other animals, the government says, that are more important because the wild horses are ‘not native.’”

Earlier this year, Rep. Walter Jones (Rep) reintroduced the Corolla Wild Horses Protection Act, to again try to force the federal government to allow the horses to be moved. The bill is currently stuck and unless it receives significant support, it will not pass in this year’s Congressional session as it did not when introduced in 2012 and 2013.

To make matters worse, according to Ferguson, “The Interior Department is instead actively working to further reduce the horse population to only 60.”

Raising Awareness

Michaela, with the oversight of her 4-H leader Maggie Harrison, has been working to raise awareness of the Spanish wild mustangs' plight and encouraging others to contact their representatives in Congress and get this bill passed this session.

To that end, in early August of this year, Michaela had written to all 100 members of the US Senate asking for their support for the Corolla Horse Protection Act. She designed a postcard asking representatives to pass the Corolla Wild Horse Fund Bill and she included a copy with each letter.

Michaela’s mother, Ann, noted that Michaela has worked to earn the funds to print the postcards and to pay for the postage for all the letters Michaela has sent during her campaign. As of this writing, she had only heard back from Senator Rand Paul, but not from N.C. Senators Richard Burr or Thom Tillis.

Michaela has uploaded a video presentation to YouTube explaining the history and current plight of the Corolla Wild Horses. She has designed a postcard asking representatives to pass the Corolla Wild Horse Fund Bill. Maggie and Michaela have challenged their 4-H Southern Oak Equestrian Center group to write their Congressional representatives. Michaela has contacted the National 4-H Council asking the council to post her video and to ask for 4-H’ers around the country to write their senators.

Heather Schaffer, the Wake County Cooperative Extension representative, has been very supportive of Michaela. Schaffer has sent Michaela’s video, letter, and postcard to all 4-H leaders in North Carolina asking that they write senators to pass the Corolla Wild Horses Protection Act.

In addition, Cooperative Extensions with larger 4-H programs for the Equine studies/clubs were also asked to help with Michaela’s project, including those in Arkansas, Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

To see Michaela’s YouTube presentation, go to tinyurl.com/SaveCorollaMustangs. There, you can find a copy of the letter Michaela sent to U.S. Senators. To contact federal representatives on the issue, see contactingthecongress.org. And to track the progress of the Corolla Wild Horses Protection Act, see govtrack.us/congress/bills/114hr152.

Originally Posted By Wake Weekly