Sarah Woodland’s Miniature Ponies Bring Comfort to Care Homes

Woodland, who had worked as a horse groom, was given the two Miniature Shetland Ponies a few months after asking their owner if she could meet them. She wanted them to have a purpose, but their small size limited the work they could do. She first tried stable-management classes, handling sessions and parties, often in pub car parks and fields.

After her first summer, she began looking for indoor work for the ponies. A trial visit to a nearby children’s day care went smoothly. She then called a nursing home, despite having no experience in elder care, and found that residents loved the visit. Four years later, Woodland has seven ponies and takes them to care homes, residential homes and settings for children with special needs.

The job has required her to learn as she goes, from running a business to preparing the animals for indoor visits. Laminate floors can be slippery under the ponies’ feet, so she found them suitable shoes. She also trained them to use elevators, rewarding them with a mint and staying calm so they would remain calm too.

Visits last one hour to protect the ponies’ welfare. Woodland returns to facilities throughout the year, preferring to give a smaller group time to interact rather than rush through a show-and-tell. She says residents’ reactions vary: some laugh, others cry. The ponies’ small, youthful appearance may be part of the appeal, she suggests, though they are all old animals.

Woodland says the work is difficult and not highly profitable, but fulfilling. She has also brought her sons along to visits with children, and says she is proud to watch them help guide the ponies.