Horse Connection Experience
A guided experience with Donna and the horses. Learn gentle, connection-based horsemanship and spend meaningful time with the Amana horses.
1–3 hours · R500 per hour
Enquire About Horse Experience →Experiences at Amana
Come for a few hours. Leave quieter, clearer, and more connected.
Not every visit needs to be a long stay. Amana offers gentle, grounded experiences for guests, families, groups, and visitors who want to spend meaningful time with horses, animals, nature, and the farm. Whether you are staying at Waterhoek or visiting for the day, these experiences invite you to slow down, listen, and meet the farm with respect.
Horse connection experiences Farm animal encounters Monthly open days Farm walks and day visits Family-friendly by arrangement
Experiences
Choose your experience
Experiences are available by arrangement and depend on weather, farm rhythm, animal wellbeing, and availability.
Monthly Open Day
A monthly invitation into farm life, with possible horse sessions, animal encounters, braai spots, hiking, riverside time, and family-friendly activities.
By date announcement
Ask About the Next Open Day →
Farm Animal Encounters
Meet some of the animals who call Waterhoek home, including donkeys, cows, pigs, chickens, horses, and farm dogs.
Guided where needed
Enquire About Animal Encounters →
Farm Walks and Day Visits
Selected day visits may be available by arrangement for visitors who want to walk, breathe, picnic, braai, and spend quiet time in nature.
By prior arrangement
Enquire About a Day Visit →Horse Connection Experience
A gentle introduction to the Amana way of working with horses.
A guided experience with Donna and the horses. This is not a traditional riding lesson or trail ride. It is an introduction to gentle, connection-based horsemanship and the Amana way of working with horses.
Depending on the guest, horse, and day, the session may include:
- meeting the horses
- groundwork
- body awareness
- understanding horse communication
- gentle connection exercises
- learning how to approach and relate to horses
- a peaceful walk on horseback where appropriate
The focus is calm connection, trust, relationship, and learning to meet horses differently.
Details
- Duration
- 1–3 hours
- Rate
- R500 per hour
- Suitable for
- Guests, beginners, families, horse lovers, and curious visitors
- Availability
- By arrangement
The Horse Connection Experience is not a traditional horse-riding lesson or trail ride. Activities depend on the guest, the horse, the weather, and Donna's assessment on the day. The experience may include groundwork, connection work, body awareness, horse communication, and a peaceful walk on horseback where appropriate.
Monthly Open Day
A monthly invitation into farm life.
Open Days are for families, locals, guests, and people curious about Amana who want a gentle way to visit the farm.
Open Days may include:
- horse connection sessions
- animal encounters
- braai spots
- hiking
- farm walks
- riverside time
- family-friendly activities
- simple moments of rest and community
Open Days are ideal for people who want to experience the farm before booking a stay, retreat, academy conversation, or horse experience.
Ask About the Next Open Day
Animal encounters
Meet the Waterhoek family.
Meet some of the animals who call Waterhoek home, including donkeys, cows, pigs, chickens, horses, and farm dogs. Many have been rescued, rehabilitated, or given a safer and more peaceful life on the farm.
These encounters are gentle, respectful, and guided where needed.
The animals are not props. They are beings with personalities, preferences, histories, and dignity.
Horses
Teachers, partners and mirrors.
Donkeys
Quiet companions who often join meditations.
Cows & Pigs
Cows that behave like dogs. Pigs that come when called.
Farm Dogs & Chickens
The everyday family of the farm.
For the safety and wellbeing of both guests and animals, all animal interactions must be respectful and guided where needed. Please do not feed, chase, corner, ride, or handle animals without permission.
Enquire About Animal Encounters
Farm walks and day visits
Spend quiet time on the land.
For visitors who want to experience the farm without staying overnight, selected day visits may be available by arrangement.
Depending on availability and the season, visitors may enjoy:
- walking trails
- river views
- picnic or braai spots
- animal encounters
- birdlife
- quiet time in nature
- dam views
- forest walks
For Waterhoek guests
Add a deeper experience to your farm stay.
Many guests arrive for the cabins, cottage, or campsites, and then discover that Waterhoek offers more than accommodation.
During your stay, you may be able to add:
- a Horse Connection Experience
- a guided animal encounter
- farm walks
- open day activities if dates align
- quiet time at the river
- braai or gathering space use by arrangement
- drumming circle
- musical adventure with the animals
Safety and respect
The animals' wellbeing comes first.
Waterhoek is a working farm and animal sanctuary environment. Experiences are shaped around the wellbeing of the animals, the safety of guests, the weather, and the rhythm of the farm.
Please:
- respect animal boundaries
- do not feed animals without permission
- supervise children at all times
- follow Donna or the farm team's guidance
- wear suitable shoes
- be mindful around water, fire pits, fences, and farm equipment
- understand that activities may change depending on weather or animal wellbeing
Enquire
Horse Connection Experience Enquiry
Please complete this form if you would like to book or enquire about a horse connection experience.
Enquire
Monthly Open Day Enquiry
Questions
Frequently asked.
No. Beginners are welcome. The Horse Connection Experience is shaped around the guest, the horse, and the day.
Begin gently
Come meet the farm slowly.
Whether you join a horse connection session, visit on an open day, meet the animals, or walk the land, Amana invites you into a quieter way of being with nature.