Just a year and a half earlier, a riding accident had left Natasha
Holt in a coma, fighting to survive a traumatic brain injury, broken bones in her back, a deadly infection and
other complications. Months after the accident,
doctors called Natasha’s survival a miracle. And
once she was able to be around horses again,
she knew what she wanted to do with her second chance at life. She dreamed of delivering
cheer to nursing homes, rehabilitation centers and hospitals.
As word spread about what she was planning,
requests for visits started pouring in. But
Natasha still hadn’t found the right Mini for
the job. She’d contacted Robin about her search,
and naturally was drawn to Cinnabon’s beauty
and temperament. But the valuable mare was far out
of Natasha’s price range. Still, the two worked out an
arrangement for Natasha to borrow Cinnabon for just one hospital
visit. She’d fought for her own life at Wolfson Children’s Hospital,
and now, she’d been asked to bring a horse to visit children battling
cancer, becoming the first horse-and-handler team to visit the facility.
When Robin and Brooke saw the
photos from that special day,
they made the arrangement
permanent. Now a registered therapy team
with Pet Partners,
Cinnabon and Natasha have brought
healing, not just to
patients, but to Natasha and her family, as well. Natasha
has since acquired
another Mini mare as
a rescue, and has earned
that former broodmare’s
registration with Pet Partners, as well. The travels of Cinnabon and Summer are chronicled on
the Facebook page of Mini Blessings Ministries.
MiniEncounters
Mini Therapy Horses
MiniEncounters Mini Therapy Horses
came about when our church caroling
group took one of our minis to a local
nursing home in 2011. We have since averaged about 50 visits or more a year to
local nursing homes, rehabs, Veterans facilities and hospice patients. We also have
a public library program stressing pet
care, responsibility, and the joy of reading
which we present during summer reading programs at area libraries. This is a
very popular program which also includes
hands on interaction with the Minis that
includes grooming, leading and obstacles (for ages 3 and up) and it
does draw crowds! We are a
volunteer group and thanks
to them we are able to do
this. The three therapy
horses we use are all
AMHA
registered.
They love the attention they get and
they love to work.
We have seen some
amazing
things...a
non responsive person
starting to talk, a lady
who lost her horse and
thought she would never
touch another, and many
memories of childhoods on
the family farm.
20 Miniature Horse World
J U N E / J U LY 20 1 6
The saying ‘Do what you love, and you’ll never
work a day in your life.’ is so true. We also
attend local parades, private functions and love
to promote the Miniature horse. Our horses
are: Little Jaded Lady, CVF Cherokee Brave
and Dent My Arapaho.