Little horse makes children happy - level 3
.jpg)
Trotting into the hearts of dozens of children and teenagers being treated at a hospital in New York, ten-month-old miniature horse Honor visited just a handful of young patients well enough to meet him in person.
“Exciting!”
“Did you think he was bigger than you thought or is he smaller?”
“Yes, smaller.”
“Little things like this, she saw a little horse. Something like this for us and for her, it is something that you can be very grateful for, because, you know, being with this kid is hard work every day.”
Dozens of others at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan watched from their rooms and isolation units as the 32-inch tall (81 centimeters) holt was paraded around.
The trip was planned by non-profit organisation Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses. They sent tiny equines to boost the spirits of youngsters in hospitals across the United States.
“Children immediately feel, ‘Something very special is happening now,’ and we like to create those experiences in the hospital environment because often times the fear is, something scary or painful is going to happen. So the more we can offer experiences that are exciting and fun and luminous and pleasurable, we can balance a child’s experience and family members’ experience.”
The animals have comforted victims of high-profile tragedies including the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut and those devastated by the 2013 Oklahoma tornadoes.
“They’re herd animals so they’re very intuitive of what other horses are doing, needing. And I think they treat people that same way, so they sense, I think, different emotions, different feelings that children have.”
Some of the most powerful medicine for children and teenagers trying to heal.
Difficult words: trotting (running), dozens (a lot of), holt (a type of horse), parade (to walk, to demonstrate), tiny (very small), equine (a horse), boost the spirits (to make happy), youngster (a young person), luminous (bright, happy), comfort (to make somebody feel better), high-profile (known), herd (living in a herd – a group), heal (to get better), intuitive (understanding without being told something).