BLOOMFIELD - It doesn't take long to realize Mary Gallant's miniature horses are like family to her.
"Come to grandma," she calls to four-month-old Gidget.
"Her mother's over there," the owner of M&M Lucky Hooves says, pointing to a paddock on the other side of the barn on her Bloomfield property. M&M Merry Little Gidget was recently weaned from Glen Eagles Miss Fidget, Fidget for short.
"I started training her when she was two hours old. That's why she's so quiet," Gallant says as Gidget grazes nearby.
Quiet, well-trained miniatures are essential for the service she offers.
Gallant swells with pride as she shares some of her success stories from her Equine Guided Therapy Program, especially geared to seniors and special needs children.
Children are shown how to lead the horses through obstacle courses.
"It builds up self-esteem, self-confidence," Gallant points out.
She tells of visiting a seniors care facility and taking Prince into a room of a woman who was in the latter stages of dementia.
"When I brought the horse up to her she was covered up in blankets. Prince kept nuzzling at the blankets," she recalled.
So Gallant asked if she could move the blankets back. Prince kept nuzzling at her hand.
"I didn't realize she hadn't moved her body in months and here she was reaching out to pet the horse."
Leading a horse away after a visit with another senior, Gallant was called back by an amazed caretaker. She learned that the woman hadn't spoken in over a year.
"This lady was talking up a storm," Gallant said.
"Prince," she said, "is the favourite of the program in the senior care facilities."
At 11, he's the oldest member in Gallant's Bloomfield stable.
"And Fidget has a great bond with special needs children," she adds.
Gallant's stable also includes of Rosie and Bartoya. They represent further growth for her operation as both are in foal.
After receiving her certificate in the Equine Guided Activities and Therapy Assisted Program in Edmonton, Alta., she has been taking her program into schools, nursing homes and manors. She also conducts day programs on her mini-ranch where participants are shown how to work with and care for the horses.
Volunteer opportunities include caring for the horses and assisting with the programs.
M& M Lucky Hooves' Equine Guided Therapy Program is a non-profit program run entirely through donations and fundraising. The program has taken Gallant, her horses and volunteers into facilities all over P.E.I.
Future plans include hosting weekend camps for persons with physical and mental disabilities.
Concert to support Equine Guided Therapy program
ELMSDALE - A Hal Bruce concert at Westisle Theatre on Nov. 8 is a major fundraising event in support of M&M Lucky Hooves' non-profit Equine Guided Therapy Program. Special guest entertainer will be Rodney Savidant.
Tickets to the fundraiser are available form Mary Gallant, 859-1414, and at the following locations: West Prince Video and Above and Beyond in Bloomfield, Notre Dame Take-out and J&L Variety Store in Summerside, Elmsdale Corner Gas as well as Cooper's Red & White in Belfast.
There will be six items, including flight vouchers for two to any West Jet destination, up for grabs in a silent auction during the concert.
