Move Over Dogs, Animal Therapy Is For Mini Horses Too!

December 8, 2014

Hospital staff did double-takes watching a pair of miniature horses trotting down the hallways in the pediatric unit at Chicago's Rush University Medical Center.

Credit: M. SPENCER GREEN/AP

Mystery and Lunar are equines on a mission to offer "animal therapy" for ailing patients, teaching us that it's not just a job for dogs anymore.

Mini horses add an extra element of delight – many kids don't even know they exist!

Credit: ManeInHeaven.org

The horses, along with two others, belong to the animal-assisted therapy group Mane in Heaven, based out of Chicago. They visit nursing homes and centers for the disabled, but this visit marks their first-ever inside a hospital.

Credit: ManeInHeaven.org

"We have long had animal-assisted therapy here at Rush and just seen the enormous benefits that animals can have on most children – just the joy that they bring, the unconditional love," said Robyn Hart, the hospital's director of child life services.

"The horses were a smashing success," Hart added. "We're looking forward to having them visit monthly."

(H/T) PeoplePets.com. Learn more at Mane in Heaven.