<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/horses_0.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273" srcset="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/horses_0.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273 400w, https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/horses_0.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551 800w" > (Getty Images/Sandy Brooks)

At a Glance The critically endangered mustangs have survival strategies to ride out storms.

They get to high ground and form huddles with their backsides to the wind. As Hurricane Dorian bears down on the coast, the official state horse of North Carolina will not evacuate the state's Outer Banks, the 200-mile-long string of barrier islands where the equines roam.

The Corolla Wild Horse Fund, which cares for the horses, says they are equipped to handle the storm. "They go to high ground, under the sturdy live oak trees to ride the storm out," the Fund wrote in a Facebook post. "Remember, they've been doing this for 500 years!"

The fund caretakers were finishing preparations for the storm Tuesday afternoon. "We have extra hay and grain, have filled up troughs with extra water (and we do have a generator to run the well pump should we lose electricity), the horses have ID tags braided into their manes, and the herd manager will be riding out the storm at the farm with them," the fund wrote.

As the fund noted, the mustangs have survival strategies to ride out storms. They get to high ground and form huddles with their backsides to the wind.

The herd of about 130 horses are direct descendents of the horses brought over by Spanish conquistadors 500 years ago, and are critically endangered.