Therapy Ponies Scotland Visit Wishaw Care Home

RESIDENTS of a Wishaw care home have been paid a special visit by Shetland ponies, Flicker and Applejack  as part of an animal therapy session from Therapy Ponies Scotland.

Beechwood Care Home welcomed the miniature Shetland ponies to give residents a chance to interact and have fun with their new equine friends.

Cathy Togneri, Manager at Beechwood spoke highly of the visit and welcomed the prospect of the animals making another appearance in the future.

She said: “It was an absolutely brilliant idea, Flicker and Applejack were wee cuties. Residents and staff were all delighted and it completely made everyone’s day.

“It’s not every day you get a couple of ponies wandering through the development so it was nice for the residents to get an opportunity to enjoy their company! The resident’s even made hats for the ponies and were delighted when Flicker pulled the name out of a hat for our new budgie – now named Kaiser.”

At a tiny 7hh (29 inches) tall, five year old Flicker gave residents and their families more than a small reason to smile.

Animal-assisted therapy has been shown to have significant benefits for care home residents as physical contact with the animals is therapeutic, stimulates a social response and reduces stress.

Cathy added: “We already have plans for the ponies to return for special occasions and we just know it will be every bit as good as this time. We always try to give the residents something to look forward to and this is just one example of the ethos at Beechwood, that seeks to enable people to live their lives as independently as possible.”