Mini Love for ALL Abilities
Whether we are asked to work with a speech therapist, an occupational or physical therapist or counselors, we are bringing joyful experiences to people of all abilities with our minis. Our mini donkeys are especially gentle and very patient.
Enrichment Visits for Senior Care, Rehabilitation, Hospice and more
Tender Little Hearts provides a unique social connection to lonely and isolated seniors within our community. We transport our minis around the Valley to a variety of senior care facilities: assisted living, skilled nursing, hospice, memory care, our Veterans home. Our outreach is a miniature equine-based nonprofit offering onsite support for seniors who are at risk for, or struggling with, loneliness, isolation and low social support. We understand that seniors are often the most touch deprived members in our society. Family and friend visits are often rare in our lowest socio-economic areas serve. Equines are intuitive, honest and responsive, and are often better at providing support to suffering humans than other humans. Our programs offer seniors comfort, joyfulness, empowerment, improved self-esteem and unconditional love. Something as simple as petting/grooming an equine can restore self-worth and provide a feeling of togetherness. It releases an automatic relaxation response, lowers anxiety, reduces loneliness, increases mental stimulation and provides a happy distraction. Those who have low responsiveness will be animated, interactive, start speaking and smiling.
Common goals of equine assisted activities are to help an individual find relief from stress, manage symptoms of depression and anxiety, improve communication skills, build trust, secure wellness, or learn how to regulate their emotions. Most senior care facility visits are made with dogs. The uniqueness of using miniature equines allows for fostering a more unique engagement to ease the loneliness of seniors. Given the fact we are mobile and exclusively partner with miniature equines, we can bring these therapy animals to individuals who could not otherwise travel to a location for the benefit of the learning programs, equine assisted activities and therapy we can offer. Our therapeutic approach leverages the bond between humans and horses to promote healing and reduce anxiety and depression
Effects of equine-assisted interventions on older adults’ health: A systematic review: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9587396/
Animal-assisted interventions (AAI) are defined as goal-oriented and structured interventions based on human-animal interaction. In these 13 studies, the authors investigated three main domains: physical, psychological, and physiological. Concerning the physical domain, the main findings of this review are that EAI is an effective intervention that improves physical functioning Concerning physiological effects, EAI changes hormone levels and brain activity. It increases levels of serotonin and decreases the secretion of cortisol, but it also activates faster relative alpha power in all brain domains analyzed. Concerning the effects of EAI on the psychological domain, our review highlights an improvement in the quality of life of older adults, even in people with Alzheimer’s disease.
These findings provide evidence for promising health outcomes in older adults and show benefits for the quality of life and the physiological domain.
