Welcome to the website of ' Our Little Farm ' owned by Marcia and Dimitry

Together with their horses and other animals they live just outside the village Ekshärad, in the beautiful province of Värmland, central Sweden.

Proposals

Marcia started horse riding when she was 4 years old. She owned a similar business in the Netherlands from 2002 to 2011, called "The Little Ranch", where she organized all kinds of activities with the horses/animals. Like horse-riding lessons, wagon-rides and children's parties. In addition, she has been a veterinarian assistant since 2005. Nowadays she still works as a veterinarian assistant next to her work on the farm.

Dimitry began horseback riding at the age of 9 in The Netherlands. Since 2000 he had his own 2 horses, which he took on trailrides. Both of the horses were also trained to pull a carriage. In 2008 he moved to Sweden, where he built a company in horse tourism. In 2013 he began building Our Little Farm in Sweden, using his 9 year experience in the field of horse tourism. Besides the farm he has a fulltime job as a crane operator. He also has been trained as a blacksmith in the Netherlands and maintains the hooves of our horses here.

Purpose

Dimitry and Marcia’s goal is to show people what nature has to offer, to bring the guests closer to it and share with them what they know about it. The horses play a big role in delivering this message and show how they behave in their natural way of life. "What you give will be returned" is one of the statements by Dimitry and "Talking to your horse will reassure them" is something you will hear Marcia say during a ride. "Natural interaction" "Herd cohesion" "Fair and free, but consistent" "Trust" "Leadership" and "Body Language" are a few phrases you will often hear on the Farm.

Horses

The way of life and handling of the horses is of great importance. "This will result in the behavior of our horses". They try to provide the horses with everything they need in a natural way:

Space: They spend most of their time in the field as a herd. The horses can choose whether they want to stand sheltered or in the open field, where they have the time to play with each other, eat, determine the ranking, or to relax.

Life style & Natural riding style: "The education of the horses is very important". Marcia & Dimitry manage a natural approach to the upbringing of the horses, leadership and trust are essential elements. "Our horses need to know what to expect from us, we offer them our trust and this trust will be returned". This contact with the horses, and the fact that they are trained on very light but clear aids, leads to a very friendly and free way of riding. Most of the horses are actually ridden bitless, however, you can still ride your horse in a very light way; long reined. This way you can enjoy the ride with a relaxed atmosphere! "The horses also need to be able to move freely around the head/neck area so they can climb and descend the rugged terrain. Marcia & Dimitry love to tell you all about working with horses and how to handle them. "We love this riding style and would like to share it with many people, in the hope that as many horses and riders possible can enjoy this way of working with horses."

Food: We feed our horses according to their natural needs: limited sugars, and concentrates will be fed when needed. The Farm has a number of hectares of land with various types of grass, used to make hay in summer. "We like to sow our own meadows and make our own hay, so we know we are feeding good quality hay to our horses"

The location of the Farm

The Farm is located just outside the village of Ekshärad, in the province of Värmland. In the middle of the woods and on the banks of the mighty Klarälven River, which meanders down into the valley towards Karlstad. Approximately 100 km to the south.

Here they mainly focus on activities with the horses, in the surrounding fantastic nature. Such as short and longer trail rides, multi-day trips, covered wagon tours in summer and sleigh tours in winter. And for the kids there are small ponies present! In addition, we also have a beautiful holiday house for rent, which is located 100 metres form a majestic lake!
Right behind the Farm, the vast forests of the TioMilaSkogen (or the ' 10 Miles Forest) stretch out over a huge area with hills and valleys, dense coniferous- and birch forests. Traversed by rivers and streams, and with every turn you encounter a fen or a lake!

Spotting moose and deer In the forest is very likely. Even a close encounter with the wolves or bears cannot be ruled out. In short, the perfect place for an extensive wilderness and an adventurous trail ride, wagon-ride or a trip with our sleigh in winter!

The Farm consists of our authentic, bright yellow house and a spacious terrain with stables, meadows and other buildings. Bordered by the first large coniferous trees of the forest. The horses roam the surrounding meadows year-round. It remains a beautiful sight to see how they interact and play with each other.
In addition to our horses, the Farm is shared by many other animals. Including mini-ponies, cats, chickens and a pair of blue-and-yellow macaws. We also have a pack of dogs that, besides a safe feeling, provide us with a lot of conviviality and affection! They often take part in the outdoor rides and multi-day trails.

We organize our activities throughout the year. Let us take you through forests, along open plains, lakes, streams and over rolling hills. In Spring & Summer we lead you through fragrant coniferous forests, along colorful lupin fields, to idyllic lakes where we cool down with our horses. In Autumn you will be amazed by the yellow/orange light in the bright colored birch forests. And in Winter we will take you through your own winter wonderland!

Feel free to check out our 'activities' page and fill out an application form. Of course we can also provide you with more information through e-mail, on the phone, or you can just make an appointment to visit our Farm!
It is also possible to stay at the Farm for one or several nights, ideal for those who are in transit, but still want to enjoy the fun activities in the area and with us. Feel free to look at our links if you want to know what our colleagues are organizing!

In short, a Farm where everyone is welcome for a chat or, of course, one of our activities!
You are cordially invited! 

For our latest news you can check out our Facebook page or you can follow us on Instagram.

Marcia & Dimitry