Meet Ardani Farm
1760 Kings Highway | Suffolk, Virginia
I went out to Ardani Farm to get a crash course on holistic horse care. Kristen (Alli and Aoife’s horse mom) and Melissa (Balios’ horse mom) walked around the fields with me and explained how the farm supports the well-being of its horses. Named in reference to Star Trek, this stable is the third-to-last building before the end of Kings Highway.
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Tell me a fun fact about yourself or your business.
We have two nesting pairs of bald eagles that live on the farm. How long have you been in business? Two years. Describe an average day for you. Daily tasks: grounds maintenance, biomechanic and strength training for the horses, harvesting in the garden, mowing the pastures, researching things for the horses and pasture management. The horses always have access to food in the pastures and are fed randomly without the day to prevent them from becoming too dependent on a routine. If the horses expect to be fed at a certain time, they will go towards the feeding area as early as an hour before feeding. If we were late in feeding, they would become stressed. Each thing we do on the farm is done to keep the horses’ lives as natural as possible while they’re in captivity. Do you perform all of the tests on your own or use an outside laboratory? Please give examples of tests and their purpose (ex. FEC…). What are some ways you “cognitively enrich” the horses? Are those methods generally universal? How can you tell what is effective? We employ Dairy One/Equi-Analytical to test soil samples from our pastures. They also help in setting individual nutrition diets for each horse. The FEC test (Fecal Egg Count) is conducted by our veterinarian to see if our horses need deworming treatments. We change things up based off those results. A recount test is performed six weeks after the initial test to see if there are any improvements. The motto of what is needed to have a healthy horse is “friends, forage, freedom”. Horses should be in groups or have social relationships with other horses. Herds should be free to roam and find food in the wild (or as close as possible to a wilderness environment). Some things we do to cognitively enrich the horses are moving them around to different pastures, placing simple obstacles in their path, offering positive reinforcements, giving them hay or carrot popsicles or boxes with food inside, and hiding treats inside of tarps. All of these increase a horse’s ability to adapt to patterns and changes in their environment. They engage a seeking function found in horses in the wild while also being fun for the animal. When did you decide to start the stable? How did you get started or inspired or do you have formal veterinary training? I used to live in a beach house in Norfolk, working human resources as a corporate job and commuted to this farm in Suffolk to visit my horse. I knew I wanted to do the best possible by my horse and bought the farm once it became available. I strive for optimal for all the horses here and always want to help and learn everything I can. My boarders have the same goals. I went to school for cognitive psychology, which allowed me to apply techniques like positive reinforcement to horse care. I don’t have veterinary training or anything like that. Before stewarding the land and the horses here, I followed the traditional ways of horsemanship and horse care. Everything here I learned from scratch – it was just eye-opening. The holistic model is much different and continues to evolve. My focuses are nutrition, biomechanics, and pasture management. Most of the current research is centered on cows or livestock animals. Horses are not cows so I reverse-engineer what is good for cows into what is good for horses. Our veterinarian on staff is teaching me trimming now. Why do pollinators matter on a horse farm? Please describe some of the relationships between other organisms and your horses. Is there a continuing trend? When it comes to animal relationships, it is all connected. Natural systems are designed to balance each other out even without human interference. Ardani Farm is a practice in returning to nature; we have birds, beneficial insects, and even a black snake who all coexist. When aphids appear on my plants, a ladybug population appears not long after. The same has happened with squash bugs & squash wasps, horseflies and horse guardian wasps (which are parasitic to the fly larva), and dragonflies and midges. We dislike using ivermectin since the drug is fatal to dung beetles, which help disperse horse manure. Wild birds also do their part by “dragging” (another term for sifting through and dispersing) horse manure in order to find food for themselves. Once a pile is dragged, it appears flat and is more mixed in with existing soil. The Virginia Cooperative Extension and a native plant gardening group on Facebook have been my most useful resources in keeping local plants on the farm. Local plants contribute to the biodiversity of our farm. The horses on our farm forage these plants and eat what is local and natural in the area; eating only grass is actually terrible for them! When people use pesticides, insecticides, or herbicides, the beneficial insects are killed alongside the “problematic” weeds and insects. I encourage everyone to plant two native plants to start – anyone can do this to support our local (insect) friends! It will also give you a sense of place; a garden in Virginia shouldn’t look like a garden in Michigan or elsewhere. Do you have a favorite horse? How about a favorite or most recommended horse care books? My first horse, Alli, is my little mustang. She’s how I got into horse care. Aoife is my second horse. Favorite books – Dirt to Soil by Gabe Brown, Connection Training, Feed Your Horse like a Horse by Jessica Getty What’s next for you? I’m happy with what I’ve done but have so much more to do – for the horses, for the planet, etc. My long-term plan is to create a learning center at the farm so everyone can learn how to better care and love their horses. We’ll be expanding the amount of biodiverse plants and bugs present on the farm. In the fall, I will be hosting different wellness and movement events for human. Examples are yoga and a boot camp led by a local firefighter. Just like horses, humans are designed to move. Do you permit people to visit your farm? When? We mostly have boarders visit but tours are available by appointment. We host learning and development classes – visit our social media to keep up with that! I also do low-level consulting on pasture management. How can potential customers reach you? We have pages on Instagram and Facebook or you can visit our website https://www.ardanifarm.com/ . Please call us at 757-726-7307 or email [email protected] . The farm’s address is 1760 Kings Hwy. Why Suffolk? I’ve lived in Suffolk for three years at this farm. Suffolk is small enough that you can get in and know people. The land is nicer than Virginia Beach or Chesapeake. We get to be part of nature while still only being ten minutes away from Bridgeport or Chesapeake Square. |
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Meet Mulholland Family Ranch
837 North Liberty Spring Road | Suffolk, Virginia
Suffolk is for horse-lovers and equestrians! The city is plenty with horse stables and enthusiasts. On May 16, I braved the seemingly constant rain and visited Mulholland Family Ranch to do a meet and greet with the horses and their owners Connie and Mike.
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Tell me a fun fact about yourself or your business.
Horses age at a three-to-one ratio to humans. Our 30-year-old horse, Little Red, is actually 90 years old in horse years. What are some of the horses’ names? Little Red was the first horse born here; he’s my most favorite horse we have. We also have: Silly Gilly, the inquisitive horse Rascal (this visitor’s favorite and best friends with Little Red), Sugar Bear, Mickey, Minnie, Baby Belle, Buddy, Prissy, Spike (a gentle giant), Jackson Brown (best friends with Spike), and many more. How long have you been in business? We’ve been here 32 years. The ranch opened in 1989 but we started offering public lessons and a summer camp in 1996. Describe an average day for you. The days are long, hot, and hard but lead to priceless memories that last for a lifetime. The horses wander around the pastures most of the day unless we are hosting camp or have a person who’d like to ride. We feed the horses hay twice a day. The hay comes from a friend of ours in Virginia Beach, Kemp Williams. Other daily tasks include grooming the horses and cleaning their stalls. When did you decide to become an equestrian center? How did you get started or inspired? Both me and my husband have been riding all our lives. Horses are a vehicle to the heart. My inspiration is to teach people the responsibility involved in keeping a horse and also how to ride horses well. When a person invests time into caring for a horse (or anything), their love and appreciation for it increases. Why Suffolk? In my childhood, I moved back and forth from Whaleyville (pre-incorporation into Suffolk) and Suffolk. I bought this farm with my husband 32 years ago for our 10th wedding anniversary. I adore the trees, most of which have been here for 50 to 60 years and are a source of life to us. They provide firewood and shade for both us and the horses. I particularly appreciate them in the summer because it is 15-20 degrees cooler on the wood trail than it is in the open sun. Are most of your clients from Suffolk or elsewhere? What is the split between hobbyists and competitive riders? Most of our clients are from Suffolk though we’ve gotten people from other regions in the Hampton Roads area and Southampton County. The people who attended our camp as a kid now bring their children or grandchildren to us, which is wonderful! We don’t pay attention to whether people are hobbyists or competitive but emphasize skill level. We always encourage people to bond with the horses and practice their riding. Do you breed the horses or buy them as youths or adults from elsewhere? Our horses were either bred here or rescued/adopted from elsewhere. Minnie was adopted when a friend of mine passed away. There are several parent-child pairs on the farm. Out of the 28 horses we keep on the farm, 9 of them are boarders. What’s next for you? New store? Expansion (including online)? Upcoming competitions? We’re gearing up for the summer camp, which is a full-time job. We also have to paint the back of the barn. Tell me about your summer camp – how, when, why it got started. Average schedule for kids, etc. I wanted to give children a positive outlet so they wouldn’t get into trouble. The camp started in 1996, when I began giving riding lessons to my cousin and her friends. This year’s camp runs June 13th to September 2nd. The camp is non-stop activity. On the first day, we assign a horse to each child – it is their responsibility to groom, feed, and care for the horse that week. In return, the kid will learn how to ride that horse. The average camp day goes: bible study, caring for the horse, riding, lunch, and either swimming or going for a trail ride in the woods. We want people to love the horses as much as we do. Do you permit people to visit your farm? When? You can come by appointment for riding lessons or join our kids’ summer camp. How can potential customers reach you? We are active on Facebook. You can call ahead to 757-925-4232 for a riding appointment or go online to our website https://ranch.mulhollandgroup.com to register your child for the summer camp. |