Nice composition (clipped too tight though) but very badly exposed. To get the finer details, you should tone down your exposure settings a lot. How did you convert (what software) to monochrome?
when i shoot black and white i use the monochrome picture style in camera, it helps see the tones while you in the field which is good for raw shooters because you will still have the full colour image to play with in post. if i'm shooting a colour picture and have black and white in mind i look at what the colours are in the picture to see what will move with what on the colour sliders. Kevin, as mentioned already its a great composition, love the way the pony is looking into the distance and the space you have it looking into. highlights are the elephant in the room though
I work with a guy who is very much into this stark, heavy black and white style of photography, and he has plenty of pretty expensive books on the subject to inspire him, not to mention wave under my nose. (Usually Japanese?) Maybe this is exactly the look Kevin was after? My pal would love this Kev, if you do too, carry on.
I agree with Sundar and Caladina, Composition was good, you have a light meter in your camera, used with manual settings you can get closer to the desired exposure. Now looking at your earlier images and this one, you can see a vast improvement . keep it up. Kevin.
