Miniature ponies put big ah-factor into Christmas for care home residents

Christmas is a time for heart-warming tales and a visit by two cute miniature ponies dressed up as reindeer to the residents of a care home in Maidstone surely hits the spot.

What Pumpkin and his buddy Orlando lack in height they more than make up for in ah-factor as residents of The Poplars Care Centre on Tonbridge Road will find out on Wednesday 16 December, from 2pm-4pm, as they spend time stroking, grooming and generally getting to know the equine personalities. Accompanied by their handlers, the ponies will also go into the bedrooms of residents who aren’t well enough to venture downstairs so nobody feels left out.

Pumpkin and Orlando live at Pukka Ponies Equine Rescue, a small horse and pony rescue charity based in Maidstone, which started providing pony therapy in October 2015. The charity relies solely on donations to help cover the costs of looking after the 20 horses and ponies currently in its care and Pukka Pony Therapy is a way of helping to raise much needed funds.

The visit was organised by the activities manager at Poplars, Jackie Ash: “I thought the ponies would be something different for Christmas, especially when I heard they’d be dressed up as reindeer, it sounds lovely. The residents love to see the pets as therapy dog when it comes so I’m assuming they’ll really enjoy the ponies – they do love spending time with animals.”

Another highlight in the programme of festive activities taking place throughout December at The Poplars is the annual Christmas concert by pupils from West Borough Primary School, which takes place on 3 December this year.

“The residents absolutely love it when the children come in, it’s a real highlight for them and what’s nice is that the children really enjoy it too. There are always some who came the year before and they tell the others how lovely it is to visit the home because it’s so Christmassy and has lots of decorations. I always bake Christmas cookies and put them in little bags for the children as a thank you for coming and they enjoy having a chat with the residents before they go back to school. It’s a lovely, happy get together for young and old alike, just like Christmas should be,” said Jackie.

The Poplars Care Centre is located on Tonbridge Road in Maidstone, with 56 bedrooms offering a friendly, family environment for persons over 65 with a range of needs, from respite and post-operative care to crisis intervention and emergency admissions. The Poplars is part of the Forest Healthcare group of homes, which includes 13 individual homes throughout the South East of England. For more information on The Poplars, please visit www.foresthc.com or call 01622 752872.

ENDS

For further media information or photographs, please contact:

Sam Orange or Jay Commins

Pyper York Limited

Tel:      01904 500698

Email: sam@pyperyork.co.uk or jay@pyperyork.co.uk