10-year-old stallion hit and killed by car on Friday – OBX Today

On Thursday, we posted a video of two stallions battling and told how the challenging stallion battled for the other stallion’s mares for several weeks. The challenging stallion was Bullwinkle. He was in the prime of his life and went from being a symbol of what it means to be wild and free to a tragic example of how irresponsible, reckless human behavior can inflict pain, suffering and irreparable harm on the herd in the blink of an eye. Bullwinkle will never father any foals. His genes are gone from the herd forever and with such a small, vulnerable population, the consequences of this will last for generations.

Bullwinkle died as wild as he had lived; at no point did he welcome our intervention and remained cautious and defensive even as he lay on the dune unable to stand. The fighting spirit he was always known for never left him until the end. He was exactly what a wild banker’s stallion is supposed to be and we are glad that at least he never had to leave the beach – that was never intended. He was buried at the edge of the meadow where Thursday’s video was taken. This tragic incident is not much consolation, but we are at least grateful that we were able to help him die without further suffering and give him the respectful and dignified burial he deserved.

We want to thank everyone who helped us Friday night and Saturday morning, especially the visitor who called 911. Otherwise, there would have been no consequences for the driver, we would never have known what happened, and Bullwinkle might have suffered longer. We thank our community who came together that night and into Saturday to help us, the Currituck County Sheriff’s Department for their quick response and continued support, and our staff and veterinarians for their tireless efforts to always do what is best for the horses.