Muffin the therapy pony comes to visit Winchester Hospice

We were delighted to welcome Muffin the therapy pony when he came to visit patients at the hospice. This was Muffin’s first outing as a therapy pony and did an excellent job, staying still and letting everyone smother him in attention. He even managed to convince some people to offer him a few sneaky handfuls of grass from the hospice garden, one of his new favourite treats.

Every patient, who saw Muffin, had their day made and their faces lit up with joy upon seeing him. There were even several staff member who came over to see him, with most remarking that this was not how they were expecting to spend their Tuesday morning.

Donna Coombs, clinical matron at the hospice said: “Animals provide so many therapeutic benefits for our patients, providing comfort, pain distraction and helping to reduce anxiety. So many people just expect to see household pets and therapy dogs at a hospice, and of course we welcome these too.

“However, giving our patients and families a chance to see a therapy pony, which so many are not too used to seeing, is a fantastic opportunity and it was a very special morning. Patients lit up and shared their experiences with loved ones, even the staff left their shift with an extra big smile on their faces. It truly made such a positive difference. We are so very grateful and hope to welcome Muffin back at a later date.”

After an hour of meeting everyone, Muffin was feeling very tired, so he went home for a good lie down and a good sleep. Everyone at the hospice thinks he should be very proud of himself and did very well on his first day at his new job.

“Muffin had such a wonderful time meeting everyone and learnt a lot about being a therapy pony,” said Lisa, Muffin’s handler from Hampshire Therapy Ponies. “Seeing everyone’s faces light up as he came around was such a wonderful feeling and we can’t wait to come back sometime soon and see everyone again.”

We want to give a huge thank you to Lisa for bringing Muffin over and hopefully we will see both Muffin and maybe some of his friends soon.