ATV driver taunts, kills horse

COROLLA, NC - The Corolla Wild Horse Fund is outraged after another wild Spanish Mustang was found dead on the Outer Banks. An investigation showed several ATV tracks and hoof prints, indicating the horse may have been chased before the ATV hit it. This is the second horse killed in the area in the past month.

Corolla Wild Horse Fund Executive Director Karen H. McCalpin is outraged and wants something done.

McCalpin says the horse was found suffering from a leg broken so badly, it snapped into two. A resident on his way home from work discovered the horse more than a mile from where he was hit. McCalpin says the horse dragged himself over a mile, before resting between a primary and secondary dune. "Spec," as the horse is known was later euthanized.

Residents have reported hearing the ATVs at around 1 or 2 a.m.

Spec was named for a white speck of hair at the tip of his tail. McCalpin tells WAVY.com he was somewhere between 6 and 7 years old.

"He was a very, very special horse," said Wild Horse Fund Volunteer Kim Hoey.

Spec was even featured in a brochure for Corolla's Wild Horse Fund. Those pictures can be seen to the left.

A town hall meeting will be held Thursday to discuss the recent deaths and how to prevent them.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Currituck Sheriff's Dept. at 252-232-2216.