After another vehicular homicide of a wild horse on the Currituck Outer Banks earlier this month, a citizen initiative is under consideration to make the surviving herd a little safer. The initiative, the “Island Horse Off-road Protection Act”, or “IHOP” is the dreamchild of Grandy resident Willlbur Post. First conceived in 1992 after the murder of “Star,” a Corolla black stallion, by a careless driver, IHOP would create a special “safety fund” specifically for the horses. The fund would be used to apply reflective stripes and install “idiot whistles” on the horses. Similar to a deer whistle, the idiot whistle makes a noise when the horse is running that will help alert idiots to their presence.
“I spend pretty much every waking moment thinking about these horses,” said Mr. Post. “Sometimes they come in my dreams and sometimes I come in my dreams just dreaming about them. I want to make sure we do everything to protect them and keep people from murdering them.”
This is not Mr. Post’s first extraordinary effort to protect the horses. In 2003 he tried to limit access to the Corolla beaches by digging 8’ trenches on the north and south ends of the beach. In 2011 he built a sniper tower out of seagrass and driftwood.
Meanwhile, Currituck County Commissioners have allocated funds to begin construction of crosswalks on the beach that will allow the horse to safely navigate their way between the dunes and ocean. Bubba Hanging, the chairman of the CCC said he preferred the crosswalks to the reflective striping of the horses.
“Beach crosswalks will not only benefit the horses, but also the ghost crabs and some marine life such as turtles and jellyfish when they come ashore to mate. It is a better return on investment,” said Mr. Hanging.
That should fix it