Schenectady Center Residents Embrace Mini-Horse Visit Again

By Jeff Jacomowitz

When residents hear that they will be visited by mini-horses, they smile, laugh, clap and cannot wait for the elevator to open and out comes long-time horse handler Linda Cole of Kaseys Cast-a-Ways and her beautiful therapeutic mini-horse.

Mini-horse visit in June 2018

Centers Health Care's "Happy Horse Program" resumed this spring after taking the cold snowy winter off and one of the first visits of 2018 took place in March and was at Schenectady Center on Altamont Avenue, a popular nursing home and rehabilitation facility in the Capital district. In fact, the mini-horse visited there again on June 14.

Happy Horse Program at Schenectady Center in March

"The residents love these mini-horse visits," said Kristen Pidgeon, Recreation Director at Schenectady Center. "They look forward to the day the horse visits and then when it's all over, they ask when are they coming back. Both residents and staff love them."