GRANDY, N.C. — A blind wild horse that had roamed North Carolina's Outer Banks has died.
The Virginian-Pilot reports that Amadeo passed away on Friday. The horse was once considered a king of the undeveloped beaches north of Corolla.
Before he lost his sight, the stallion fought for his harem of mares. He already was blind in one eye when a stallion damaged his other eye.
Amadeo retired to a farm in Grandy for aging wild horses and became a visitor favorite. In recent weeks, Amadeo became increasingly stiff and unable to move freely.
The Corolla Wild Horse Fund said the 40-year-old horse couldn't get up after a fall and died quickly and peacefully.
"He was surrounded in love by his horse friends, Luna the barn kitty, his canine best friend Lucile, and our herd manager and trainer," the group wrote Sunday in a tribute posted to Facebook. "Yesterday he was lovingly and respectfully buried in his pasture and sent off to run with his ancestors by many of the people who loved him and cared for him over the years."
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