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Mary McCartney

Alejandro, photographed in the countryside of Sussex, England, is Mary McCartney’s own beloved white stallion.

Welsh Carneddau mountain ponies live in herds including about 15 mares and one stallion. The exact number of ponies in a herd reflects the size of the area it occupies and the strength of its stallion.

Carneddau ponies are gathered annually for health checks by local farmers, who clip their tails before returning them to the mountains. Ponies with long tails are elusive and have never been rounded up.

Each herd has a matriarch that is believed to be more influential than the group’s stallion. Thousands of these wild ponies once roamed the mountains of Snowdonia, but only about 220 remain.

The toughest and most resilient groups of Welsh Carneddau mountain ponies occupy higher altitudes, where winter temperatures can plunge to well below freezing.

The toughest and most resilient groups of ponies occupy higher altitudes, where winter temperatures can plunge to well below freezing.

The Carneddau mountains rise up from the sea.

Thousands of these wild ponies once roamed the mountains of Snowdonia, but only about 220 remain.

Ponies with long tails are elusive and have never been rounded up.

Each herd has a matriarch that is believed to be more influential than the group’s stallion.