Orphaned foal becomes therapy pony

An orphaned miniature foal has been given a new chance as a therapy pony, visiting children and the elderly.

Found by roadside

Twiggy was found at the roadside by the RSPCA when she was just a few days old. The charity asked Caroline Seignot of Pony Pals if she could give the filly a home.

Pony Pals is a team of miniature therapy horses, who visit children’s hospices, nursing and residential homes, community day centres and nursery schools in the south east.

As well as offering comfort and companionship, theponies motivate the residents to move about and get involved.Activities include plaiting the ponies’ mane, which helps improve hand-to-eye coordination, grooming, and talking them for walks.

In at the deep end

WithPonyPal visits scheduled on most week days and an orphaned foal needing hourly bottle feeds, Caroline had little choice but to take Twiggy with them.

“It made sense to chuck Twiggy in at the deep end and use her for the visits,” Caroline told H&C. “The residents loved to bottle feed her and she was house trained within four weeks, although we did carry a bucket at first!”

The oldest and most experienced team member is Super Noodles, who is now semi retired so he can focus on his career as a carriage drivingpony.

Mishap in the lift

“He started the organisation with me five years ago when a nursing home my mum workedat required an activity after being let down by a petting farm,” said Caroline. “We took Noodles inside the nursing home due to bad weather and he was a huge success, apart from a little mishap in the lift!

The miniature Shetland made such a good impression on the residents that Caroline decided to house train him.

“He took to it like a duck to water, with his new nappy in place and having been taught to spend a penny on command,” she said. “So we started to approach other nursing homes, community centres and mental health homes as well as hospices.”

Team member

Two-year-olds Cheddarand Indi are now part of the team, along with their latest recruit Twiggy.

“She is very much a team member now at 15 weeks of age, the residents are enjoying watching her grow up and develop,” said Caroline.