Ronivaara · Kuusamo, Finland

Animals at Ronivaara

Finnhorses, sheep, chickens, dogs and cats – each living their own day within the life of the farm.

Many different lives share the same farm day

Ronivaara is home to Finnhorses, sheep, chickens, dogs and cats throughout the year.

Each species brings its own rhythm to the farm. The Finnhorses move and rest with their familiar herds. Sheep keep an eye on what is happening around them. Chickens scratch, search and chatter through their day. A dog may follow people from one job to another, while a cat chooses its own route through the stable and yard.

Some parts of the day are lively and busy. Others are quiet.

An animal may come closer to see what is happening, stay peacefully with its companions or settle down to rest while work continues nearby.

Living with the animals means getting to know these differences. Over time, familiar habits, relationships and individual characters become easier to recognise.

The farm day begins with the animals

Feeding, fresh water, clean living areas and checking how everyone is doing give the day its first rhythm. Around these familiar routines, the rest of Ronivaara begins to move.

The Finnhorses at the heart of Ronivaara

Ronivaara is a Finnhorse farm, and the horses have shaped life here from the beginning.

They live with familiar companions in herds, moving through outdoor areas and wooded paddocks and resting in their shelters. During the grazing season, their world opens farther onto the hillside and forest pastures around Ronivaara.

A herd has its own quiet order.

Two horses may choose to rest close together. Another moves towards the feeding area. Someone notices people approaching before the others do. Familiar friends often seek one another out.

Each Finnhorse is also known as an individual. Age, health, stage of life, skills and daily condition are part of how each horse is cared for and what kind of activity suits it.

Some are especially comfortable on forest trails. Others have strengths in riding, driving, groundwork or calm interaction with people.

The Finnhorses have their own page where you can meet them by name and get to know their different characters.

Meet Our Finnhorses

Read About Horse Welfare

The sheep among the others

The sheep have their own relationships and their own calm, watchful way of following what happens around the farm.

A person arriving nearby may first be observed from a distance. After a while, curiosity may bring one sheep closer while another is perfectly content to stay where it is.

They eat, rest, move together and follow the familiar members of their group. Sometimes they are busy with their own day. At other times, something happening in the yard is interesting enough for several pairs of eyes to turn in the same direction.

Spending a little time beside them makes their differences easier to see – who comes closer first, who follows another and who prefers a little more space

Life in the chicken house

The chickens and rooster bring a completely different kind of life to Ronivaara.

Their world is busy, curious and full of small sounds and movements. They scratch the ground, search for food, rest on their perches and keep surprisingly close track of what the rest of the flock is doing.

One chicken may come quickly to investigate. Another continues scratching as though nothing unusual has happened. A third watches from a comfortable distance.

Their everyday care includes fresh food and water, cleaning the chicken house and collecting eggs.

Stay beside the flock for a little while and individual habits begin to appear: who walks with whom, who claims a little space of its own and who is usually the first to come and see what is going on.

There is life around every corner of the farm

Sheep watching from across the yard, chickens busy around their own world, a dog following the day’s work or a cat appearing in the stable – the smaller animals bring their own movement, sounds and character to Ronivaara.

The dogs move with the day

The dogs live close to the people at Ronivaara and are part of the movement of everyday life.

A dog may follow along outdoors, settle nearby while work is being done or join people as they move from one part of the farm to another.

Their days have different rhythms too. There is time for movement and activity, but also for familiar places, company, sleep and quiet rest.

Each dog brings its own character to the farm. One moment may be active and curious, another simply sharing the same space while the day carries on around them.

Picture Hippos, Sonja Holma.

The cats choose their own routes

The cats know the stable and farmyard in their own way.

A cat may appear in the middle of the day, walk through the stable as though checking that everything is in order, settle somewhere warm or choose a good place from which to watch people, horses and the movement around the yard.

Sometimes it comes close for attention. Sometimes it is busy somewhere else.

That independent rhythm is part of their character – and part of the pleasure of noticing a cat suddenly sitting somewhere you did not expect it to be.

Picture Hippos, Sonja Holma.

Caring for animals means doing ordinary work

A large part of life with animals is made from practical, repeated jobs.

Water needs carrying. Feed needs preparing. Shelters and enclosures need cleaning. Eggs need collecting. Equipment needs looking after. A horse needs leading from one place to another.

These ordinary jobs make the animals’ needs visible.

You notice how much water is used, how a living area stays clean and comfortable, where an animal prefers to eat and whether everyone has found a peaceful place to rest.

Much of good animal care looks very ordinary: the same necessary things being done again tomorrow.

That work continues through winter snow, spring thaw, summer pasture and autumn rain. It is part of the rhythm that keeps Ronivaara moving every day of the year.

Familiarity changes what you notice

The longer people and animals share everyday life, the more small things become familiar.

You begin to recognise who chooses whose company. Two animals may repeatedly rest beside one another. One follows when another starts moving. A familiar person may be greeted differently from someone arriving for the first time.

The animals also become familiar with the people around them – their voices, movements and ways of approaching.

Over time, a glance, a change in posture or a slightly different way of moving can tell more than it did at first.

This familiarity is an important part of life at Ronivaara.

The animals are individuals, but they are also members of herds, flocks, families and the wider life of the farm.

Meeting the animals at Ronivaara

A farm visit brings you into the everyday surroundings where the animals live.

You may meet Finnhorses around their familiar areas, stop beside the sheep, see what is happening around the chicken house or notice a dog or cat somewhere along the way.

The animals are approached calmly, with guidance from the people who know them. Their space, relationships and familiar routines remain part of the encounter.

That makes looking and noticing just as important as touching.

A sheep deciding to come closer, chickens carrying on with their busy day or a Finnhorse standing quietly among familiar companions can tell you a great deal about the animal and the place where it lives.

Explore Farm Visits

Come and meet the animals at Ronivaara

Finnhorses, sheep, chickens, dogs and cats all bring their own character and rhythm to the farm.

Spend some time here and you begin to notice more: familiar friendships, curious looks, quiet resting places, busy little routines and the ordinary work happening around them.

Together, these different animals are part of what makes Ronivaara feel like Ronivaara.

Explore Farm Visits

Meet Our Finnhorses

Discover Ronivaara

Picture Hippos, Sonja Holma.