GOLDEN ROCK HORSE PLAY
Golden Rock Horse Play is a peaceful horse experience in the foothills of the Maluti Mountains where guests learn to connect with horses through curiosity rather than control. Schaapplaats Farm is surrounded by sandstone hills and wide skies.
Here, life moves at a gentler pace. The horses are not trained through dominance or pressure, but through curiosity, patience, trust and positive reinforcement.
Guests are invited to slow down, meet the herd, and discover how horses naturally communicate with each other and with us.
The experience focuses on:
• calm interaction with horses
• learning how horses communicate
• time in nature
• small group experiences
• thoughtful, gentle horsemanship
The farm includes the original sandstone farmhouse and 2 cottages for accommodation, a venue barn for talks, and a herd of seven Clydesdale cross horses, 2 old rescue ponies and an old cattle pony.
Walks with the horses and quiet observation of both the Clydesdale crosses on Schaapplaats and the feral herds in the mountains, creates space to reconnect with nature and yourself.
Golden Rock is not about becoming a better rider. It is about becoming a better listener — to horses, to nature, and sometimes even to ourselves.
ACTIVITIES INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:
MEET THE HORSES: Boulder, Amy, Chester, Gallahad, Thomas, Sheila, and Maggie and the ponies are Flash, Sharky and Earl Grey.
WALK AT LIBERTY (no restraints) WITH A HORSE: You will learn how the horse communicates with you and develops trust in you through calm interaction.
OBSERVE FERAL HORSES IN THE MOUNTAINS: 3-6 hours and depends on where the herds are at the time. Guests will learn how wild herds behave and how domestic herds are sometimes so far removed from what is natural to them.
INTRODUCTION TO POSTIVE REINFORCEMENT: target training, how to avoid mugging and barging, simple liberty games, how horses enjoy learning through curiosity and reward and where to find more information.