Our interview today is with Debbie Garcia-Bengochea from Gentle Carousel, a horse therapy program located in High Springs, Fl. Debbie is going to share with us today, the magic that her tiny miniature horses bring to the lives of people who need it most.

A. People are never too young or too old to have a special wish granted or to experience a special moment of love.

Gentle Carousel is a non-profit charity dedicated to bringing therapeutic visits by tiny miniature horses to children and adults in hospitals, hospice, nursing homes, group homes or confined at home.

We also work with adults and children who have physical or learning disabilities and abused and at risk children.

Our horses provide the beneficial and therapeutic effects of animal assisted activities. In other words, they bring hope and inspire laughter.

Every visit is different, but they all bring a little magic into someone's life.

Some people we visit have always had horses and are so encouraged to be with a horse again. Other people have never even touched a horse before, but our horses are so gentle and tiny that no one is afraid.

We adjust the time and activities to the needs of the visit participants. With children, we often bring stuffed toy horses and our Gentle Carousel coloring book as a gift. If Gentle Carousel participants would like photographs taken with our horses, we will make sure there is a photographer available.


Q. How does pet therapy benefit the patients?

A. Our horses enrich the lives of those we visit. You will never forget the look on a child's face when horses walk right into their hospital room.

On one visit, we took the horses to see a gentleman in hospice care. He had been the stunt double for Roy Rogers and the Lone Ranger, and had worked with horses his entire life. They wanted him to be with horses one last time. The look on his face when the horses walked in and the way he touched them is something we will always remember.

When our horses arrive at children's programs, we always read a special poem before the horses come in. It talks about magic horses who have blue eyes and are sprinkled with fairy dust. All of our therapy horses have blue eyes and we make sure they have "fairy dust" sparkles too.

Before they are even considered for training the must also meet strict physical requirements. All of the horses in our program are under "30" tall (mostly about "27" at maturity) and are beautiful show quality miniature horses. They must have two blue eyes and the more dramatic their pattern and color the better. When Gentle Carousel Therapy Horses arrive at a hospital or other facility, we want them to be breathtaking.

As you can imagine, finding a horse with all of those qualities is difficult. We are always on the lookout for a special horse. Three of the horses purchased for our program over the last two years were sired by the same "27" tall, jet black frame overo stallion with blue eyes. We are currently working with a foal born here that will be part of our training program. His name is Stardust, and he is a medicine hat frame overo with two blue eyes.



Q. How do you train your horses?

A. Our horses need to feel comfortable in new situations and adapt to sounds and sights that would frighten their equine friends. Most of our future horses will be born here and that makes training much easier.

The "imprinting" process of a Gentle Carousel Therapy Horse begins at birth. As soon as the foal is born, a handler gently touches his gums, teeth, ears, mouth and nose. She handles the foal's feet, applies gentle pressure to the sides and back, and introduces him to distracting sights and sounds. The foal is also walked on different surfaces including tile and carpet. Foal imprinting is the desensitizing to human interaction before his fight-or-flight instinct kicks in.

In other words, we want the foal to experience sensations he will experience as a Therapy Horse and accept them at the earliest stage.

Training is a long process. Our horses learn to walk up stairs, ride in elevators, move around hospital equipment, ignore sudden movements or sounds and still enjoy being with people at the same time. The learning process never ends.

We were recently called and asked to bring a therapy horse to a private home where a woman was in hospice care. She had been asking for her childhood pony the last two days of her life. Her family told her to hold on... they had a surprise for her...but when we arrived we were told that she had slipped into a coma.

In order for our horse to get to her bedroom, he had to walk past a fence with barking dogs, go upstairs, walk on a tile floor, walk down a narrow hallway and enter a carpeted room crowded with family including very young children. Then he needed to ignore all the distractions as we walked him over to the bed.

That is when the magic happened! The woman opened her eyes and smiled. She put her hand on the horse's head and gently stroked him. Then she quietly passed away. The family knew that they had granted her last wish. Our horse stayed in the room and walked from person to person as family members hugged him. All of the training to get to that moment had been worth it.


Q. Do you ever get horses, that for one reason or another, just don't make it as a pet therapy horse?

A. Our therapy horses love being with people even when they are in noisy, challenging situations. When we put their "on duty" halters on, they know they are heading out to a visit and they are excited to be the center of attention. A horse can pass all of the levels of training and still not make it as a therapy horse because they just do not enjoy the experience. Attitude is everything.


Q. Was it hard to persuade some facilities to let you bring your horses in?

A. It was at first, but our horses are so well known now that it is not a problem...the facilities call us!

Just this month, our horses visited every classroom in a school for special needs children, worked inside a non-profit preschool, walked on a stage at a theater, visited foster children in a church, spent time in a library, as well as visiting hospitals and private homes. They will soon walk on a runway at a fashion show to benefit non-profit children's organizations.

In some situations, space is really the issue. For instance, at the Ronald McDonald House, it is easier for the children and families to come outside for a visit so everyone can participate.


Q. Approximately, what is the cost of caring for the horses?

A. This last year, the total cost of caring for the team of therapy horses including board, travel to facilities, vet costs, horse purchases, equipment etc., was well over $75,000. Gentle Carousel does not charge for our therapy visits (or photography, toys etc.). We are a non-profit charity and depend on donations to help make our magic happen.

Q. Do these horses have any special requirements, differing from regular horses?

A. Our therapy horses need the same care as large horses, including regular vaccinations, farrier and dental care. Fencing and horse trailers need to be adapted to their small size. People always ask if they live indoors with us. The answer is no. Horses are herd animals and they need time with their friends to run and play in the pasture. When our horses are off duty they know it. They may be small, but they are horses in every way.



Q. If someone wanted to start something like this in their area, what advice would you give them?

A. Your program is only as good as the horses involved. Take your time and make sure the selection and training of your horses is priority.


Any additional comments you may want to add about pet therapy:

Sometimes our stories can sound so serious, but so many funny things happen too. We received a call the other day from someone who wanted to share what happened in their family. Their mother was in an assisted care facility. She called them on her cell phone and said there was a horse in her room, to bring the grandchildren over quickly. They called the facility and told them that they needed to send a doctor, because their mother had taken a turn for the worse. When asked what was wrong, they said she believed there was a horse in her room. Well actually...there was a horse in her room.


If you would like to find out more about Debbie and her amazing therapy horses, visit her site at: Horse-Therapy.org

Thanks again for sharing your wonderful horses and their stories with us. I will never think of pet therapy the same again.