Amidst the Wild Ones: Day One

Morning

We woke up before the sun which rose before five in the morning. It was a twenty minute drive to where the ponies lived, so we got an early start. Thankfully it didn’t take long to find one of the bands of horses. They were gathered close to the fence which made it easy to find them. We stayed with that band while the sun rose and made them glow and the dew covered grass sparkle like glass. During this time I captured the reference photos for “Morning Glow,” “Brief Encounter,” and “Curious Gaze.” 

We spotted another band of ponies, so we walked across the moor to meet them. We positioned ourselves to put the sun behind the ponies and get some backlit photos. After a while, the quiet settled over us all. Our lenses slowly dropped and we began to just sit there, watching as the ponies moved into the lightly forested area in the distance. We were all content just observing and taking in their beauty and peace. It was a magical morning. 

We got back to the house just after nine in the morning. After breakfast, a nap, lunch, and a lesson in horse behavior, we went back out to see the ponies.

Evening

This time, we split into two groups. My group went to a band along the edge of some woods. We observed a couple foals scratching themselves on some shrubs, other foals napping near their mothers, the band leader retrieving a mare who had wandered to another band, and several yearlings playing together. During this session I took the reference photos for “Exmoor Foal Sketch,” “Youthful Gaze,” and “Young Friends.” 

After a long walk across the moor, we rejoined the rest of the group. We watched a different band of ponies while the sun started to set. The light from the sunset made the yellow flowers really glow. The sun set after nine PM that day, so we got back to the house late. We all went right to bed to repeat the process the next day.

Morning: backlit pony

Evening: young leader driving his mare back home