The head is somewhat large in proportion to the body, with small ears, and has a unique feature called a "toad eye" caused by extra fleshiness of the eyelids, which helps to deflect water and provide extra insulation. As with most cold-weather pony breeds, the Exmoor grows a winter coat consisting of a highly insulating woolly underlayer and a topcoat of longer, oily hairs that prevent the undercoat from becoming waterlogged by diverting water down the sides of the animal to fall from just a few drip areas. The mane and tail are thick and long, and the dock of the tail is of a type common in cold-weather ponies, having coarse hairs, called a "frost cap," "snow chute," or "ice tail" that deflects rainwater away from the groin and underbelly areas to fall from the long hairs on the back of the hind legs.