Wild ponies grazing below a rocky mountain summit under a cloudy blue sky
The Carneddau Ponies are truly wild but once a year they are gathered up by the local farming communities and given a healthy check before quickly being released back into the wild. It’s an incredible sight to see and I recently got to witness the gathering as well as playing a super micro part of the process. Whilst the farmers and their families did the hard work, we all walked down the mountain in a wide line to discourage the ponies from walking back up again. Once off the mountain, the ponies are checked over and some are removed (ones that may not make the winter and some young colts are taken out to keep the numbers down), have their tails sniped to show they’ve been checked and then released back into the wild whilst the ones kept behind are given new homes courtesy of horse charities. And all in a matter of hours in the most incredible military style operation I’ve ever seen.
Herd of horses running across a grassy moorland landscape, with a rider on horseback in the distance.
Rider on an ATV beside a dry-stone wall as a herd of ponies grazes on a rocky green hillside.
Group of people riding red all-terrain vehicles through green mountain hills under a cloudy sky
Man wearing a helmet and blue riding gear standing between muddy all-terrain vehicles in an outdoor field
Person riding an ATV through a hilly green landscape alongside a herd of ponies
Herd of ponies grazing in a green, stone-walled moorland pasture.
Misty mountain overlooking green pastureland divided by dry-stone walls, with grazing sheep and horses.
Ponies grazing on a green hillside beside a stone wall overlooking a lake and rolling countryside
Three horses running across a grassy moorland while people watch from all-terrain vehicles and on foot
Rolling green hills beneath dramatic dark storm clouds and low mist.
Black-and-white landscape of rolling hills beneath dramatic clouds
Older man riding a red ATV through rolling green countryside and farmland
People riding all-terrain vehicles across a green hillside overlooking a coastal valley under dramatic clouds
Rolling green hills with sheep, stone walls, power pylons, and a group of horseback riders and cyclists in the foreground
Hikers viewing green rolling hills and distant mountains beneath dramatic storm clouds
Herd of shaggy ponies grazing in a grassy fenced pasture
Group of shaggy ponies standing together in a wooded area
Group of hikers walking alongside several ponies on a rural road through green hills
People handling a group of ponies in a fenced livestock barn
People handle a small brown pony beside a concrete wall outdoors.
Black-and-white photo of a shaggy pony standing behind metal livestock fencing with another pony beside it
Black-and-white close-up of a shaggy horse behind a metal fence
Older bearded man in a baseball cap and brown jacket leaning on a metal railing outdoors
Black-and-white photo of a man in work clothes and a flat cap standing beside livestock pen gates in a barn.
Black-and-white portrait of a bearded man in a dark shirt standing outdoors near blurred people and an industrial building
Farmers and visitors stand beside ponies in a livestock pen, with wrapped hay bales, trees, and a hill in the background.
Close-up of a crowded herd of colorful horses behind a metal fence
A crowded group of shaggy horses standing together in a dark enclosure.
Close-up of a person trimming a horse’s long tail with scissors.
Crowd of people walking along a fenced outdoor walkway, with a young woman in a gray hoodie in the foreground.
Farm workers handling sheep in a livestock pen beside industrial equipment
Mixed-color human hair collected inside a white plastic bag
Farm workers and visitors standing beside a brown-and-white cow in a livestock pen