Corolla Wild Horse Fund announced on Facebook last week the first foal of 2024, a colt named Eros. Courtesy of Corolla Wild Horse Fund.
Corolla Wild Horse Fund is celebrating the first foal of 2024. Dam and foal were in “excellent condition” after the birth of Eros was announced last week.
According to the Fund, Eros’ mother is an experienced dam. Her harem includes a daughter from 2021. Eros was estimated to be one week old last week.
Visitors to Corolla Beach are encouraged to keep their distance from Eros, because stress on mother and baby can cause issues such as rejection and aggression from the adults.
“Foals are also very impressionable at this age and habituate easily. It is very dangerous for you if the mare or stallion feels threatened — they will not hesitate to charge and you could be trampled, bitten, kicked or all three. Thank you for helping us make sure this foal has the best chance at growing up healthy and wild,” the Fund posted on Facebook.
Eros was not named until after the announcement when his sex was determined.
Eighty-five percent of funding to care for the wild horses of Corolla comes from public donations, which are welcome anytime online.
The colt’s birth starts 2024 off on the right hoof after the wild horses suffered several losses at the end of 2023.
In late July 2023, 9-year-old stallion Thicket was struck by a vehicle, which left the scene without contacting authorities. Thicket’s elbow was badly fractured, and multiple lacerations on his shoulder and face confirmed trauma consistent with a vehicle impact. He was euthanized the next day and left behind a harem of four mares.
On Aug. 5, a mare named Cora Mae was struck by a vehicle on the beach, however the driver in the incident reported it to the sheriff’s department. Cora Mae’s tibia was fractured in multiple places and the decision was made to euthanize her. The teenage mare was one of Corolla’s top producers, who foaled Liberty, Valor, Riptide, Bravo and Cosmos in the last few years.
In early October, Blossom, believed to be in her late 20s if not nearly 30 years old, was unable to bear weight on her front left leg and refused to move but could not keep up with her harem. She was removed from the herd for treatment. X-rays and a physical exam showed a torn ligament. The Fund believes that Blossom was caught in something and tore the ligament in an attempt to free herself or twisted the ligament when walking in the deep sand.
The Fund was contacted on October 14 about a horse seen “behaving abnormally.” The horse was found to be 25-year-old Daisy, who was also known as Snowcone, and she had fallen down and was unable to get up.
Multiple factors encouraged staff, with veterinarian recommendation, to administer pain medication and reassess Daisy’s condition the next morning. Fund staff and veterinarian returned on the morning of October 15 and found that Daisy was standing, but appeared unstable. She received more pain medication and then was loaded onto a trailer and brought to the Fund’s farm for treatment.
Although Daisy made the trip well to the farm, she died on her own during the night of October 15. A necropsy report determined she suffered chronic cardiac and liver changes, as well as other conditions associated with old age.
Rebecca J. Barnabi is the national editor of Augusta Free Press. A graduate of the University of Mary Washington, she began her journalism career at The Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star. In 2013, she was awarded first place for feature writing in the Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia Awards Program, and was honored by the Virginia School Boards Association’s 2019 Media Honor Roll Program for her coverage of Waynesboro Schools. Her background in newspapers includes writing about features, local government, education and the arts.
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