Equine Therapy
A stout, plump horse and a lithe tanned horse clomped around a Butler Township nursing home Thursday to lift the spirits of residents under the coronavirus lockdown.
On Friday, Annie Gaggini will turn 97 years old, but will be unable to celebrate her birthday because of virus restrictions. Thursday's visit from two therapy horses was as close as she would get to a celebration.
And it didn't disappoint.
Gaggini has been a resident of Lowrie Place, a senior-living home on Stirling Village Drive, since last year. On Thursday she had one of the highlights of her stay there when the nonprofit group In Stable Hands brought two of their horses for the day from Greensburg, Westmoreland County.
“It was nice to go out, especially when you like animals and they do a good job of bringing the animals and showing us around them, Gaggini said. “At this time, we're cooped in here due to what's going on with this flu but I enjoy being here and they treat me nice. Everybody is so kind. They're so helpful. It's just a nice place to finish being 96.”
The short horse, Stormy, and the standard-sized horse, Gretchen, were handled by Jennifer Ely and Cari Worley. The two sisters started the organization as a way to help people going through therapy through methods called equine-assisted psychotherapy and equine-assisted learning. But on Thursday the animals were used to help alleviate some of the stress residents have from being forced to isolate from the outside world, according to Carol Warner, the facility's life enrichment coordinator. Gaggini admired both of the horses, noting that Stormy, the smaller one, was nonthreatening and nice to be around.“I try to do different things, unusual things that will put a smile on their face. They love animals,” Warner said.The nursing home has about 43 residents. About 24 of them came out to pet the horses.
“Hopefully, it picked their spirits up,” Warner said. She noted that depending on the mental acuity of the residents, some of them don't understand the coronavirus precautions. “Some of them don't understand what's going on. You don't want them to think their families are ignoring them because that's certainly not the case.”She said these types of events also help residents to stay active.“What's nice is when things like this happen it encourages larger participation for the next event,” Warner said. “This kind of stuff builds confidence for them.”The horse visitation isn't the only way Warner and the other staff try and keep the residents busy. Warner said they brought nine chicken eggs earlier this year and six of them hatched on Easter. After turning them over to a farm, the staff arranged for another batch of eggs that the residents help tend, according to Warner.In the coming weeks, Warner and the staff plan on raising butterflies and releasing them in the area for the residents to watch.“This was a treat for them and put a smile on their faces,” Worley said.
