The Foundation for Shackleford Horses, Inc., is a North Carolina non-profit corporation, organized in 1996, by a group of Carteret County citizens concerned about the announced plans by the National Park Service to reduce the size of the herd of wild horses on Shackleford Banks to numbers that people believed would be detrimental to them. Those first Foundation Board members consulted with scientists, veterinarians, and equine experts who shared their time, their expertise, their thoughtful consideration to maintaining a viable herd on Shackleford and the concerns of the public, and gave the Foundation members the necessary information to move forward as confident and credible advocates for the horses.  That information and advocacy resulted in the enactment of the Shackleford Banks Wild Horses Protection Act in 1998, which ensured the preservation and protection of the wild horses of Shackleford, and co-management of the herd by the National Park Service and the Foundation for Shackleford Horses, Inc.

Since that time, the NPS at Cape Lookout and the Foundation have worked together to monitor the health and progress of the herd, to make decisions regarding the management of the herd, and to educate the public about the herd and how it can work with us to help ensure its survival.  Any horses that are removed from the island are turned over to the Foundation for care and placement.  The Foundation has no paid staff; its work is done solely through the efforts of volunteers, and its operations are conducted solely through donations and grant funding.