Mini Therapy Ponies Delight Elderly Residents with Surprise Visits to Nursing Homes and Hospitals (Exclusive)

Sarah Woodland and her six miniature Shetland ponies travel to meet animal-loving seniors across the UK

• Sarah Woodland’s company Dinky Ponies brings six miniature Shetland ponies to care for residents of care homes and hospitals across England

• Dinky Ponies went viral on Instagram with heartwarming videos of pet-loving seniors fawning over therapy animals

• Little Woodland Horses also visit children in mainstream schools and with special needs and book one-to-one private sessions

Miniature Shetland ponies can be less than a meter tall, but Sarah WoodlandThe traveling team of little horses is lifting spirits across the UK.

In 2021, the Woodland equestrian formed the Dinky Ponies, an aptly named team of therapy ponies based in Oxfordshire.

The fun-loving herd started out attending outdoor children’s parties and private viewings in southern England, but Woodland needed a way to keep business from dwindling with the temperatures every winter.

Near the end of summer 2022, she called a few local nursing homes to see if their elderly residents would like to meet the Dinky ponies.

It wasn’t long before Woodland was inundated with bookings and inquiries requesting visits from the six trained and trusted steeds that make up the team: Poppy, Abbey, Charm, Tinks, Gracie and Georgie.

Today, Dinky Ponies have expanded their services to hospitals, special needs schools, regular schools and more. Woodland tells PEOPLE that he’s seen a range of “invaluable” reactions during his visits, but most people are “extremely pleased” to meet the unexpected therapy animals.

“Many are very surprised, especially if they are in a room where you need to get [elevator], and they would never expect to see a pony coming into their room!” the former freelance horse groomer says, adding: “Some don’t believe ponies are real. Some get scared occasionally and need a little reassurance.”

Thanks to social media, Dinky Ponies’ services have reached animal lovers far beyond the English cities they travel to. Woodland documents their encounters on social media, sharing some of the ponies’ experiences. more exciting interactions for her 124,000 Instagram followers.

In a post with more than 130,000 likes, Poppy the pony instantly brought an especially reserved and often distant message. nursing home resident out of his shell. In the clip, Poppy can be seen comfortably resting her head on the elderly woman, whose enthusiasm is palpable in the footage.

“One of the things I love most about my job is seeing the difference ponies make,” Woodland wrote in the caption of the Instagram video. “Witnessing how their presence literally changes someone’s entire mood, facial expressions and attitude. Watching their eyes light up and the smiles form on their faces. When they go from sitting and staring at the wall, to engaging, talking and enjoying the company of the ponies. I love sitting back and watching the magic happen.”

Fans and followers of the Dinky Ponies took to the comments to praise Woodland’s initiative and its remarkably well-behaved ponies. After decades of experience working with horses, Woodland says training requires time, patience and love above all else.

“I never make them do anything they don’t want to do, so visits are really controlled by them and where they want to go,” she tells PEOPLE. “It has a lot to do with trust and understanding that I would never put them in danger.”

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Read the original article at People.