When in the UK, I base myself in the rolling hills of Somerset in the South West of the country where I am fortunate to be able to have reasonable access to Exmoor National Park which contains several herds of these fantastically charismatic wild ponies.

The 500 ponies are only ‘wild’ in the sense that the herds roam freely on the moor, but they all belong to someone. Even the National Trust own two of the 21 herds on Exmoor! They are alert, intelligent and extremely kind in nature.

‘Daydreamer’ is the result of hours of field work with Exmoor Ponies. Spending a lot of time in their company to observe and identify various character traits and recognising individual ponies that I could work more closely with.

This individual stood out because, not only does he look incredible against the moorland backdrops, but because he often remained stationary and alert for longer than normal periods of time. I would try and work out what was holding his gaze and attention, however I was never able to see or hear anything remarkable.

Horses and ponies can and do sleep with their eyes open, and also while standing, but their ears are nearly always pointed backwards. That said, it’s still quite possible that he was momentarily sleeping and therefore daydreaming.

Exmoor ponies have inhabited the Exmoor moorland for many years, and they are one of the oldest native breeds in the United Kingdom. The first written record of Exmoor ponies appears in the Domesday Book in 1085. Source: Exmoor Pony Centre

Even though numbers have risen from near extinction in the early part of the twentieth century, the Exmoor Pony is currently listed as 'endangered' by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.

This image is for sale as part of the ‘Essence of Exmoor’ collection of limited and open edition, 100% carbon-neutral, museum-quality fine art prints.

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© 2024 Drew Sproule Fine Art Nature Photography