Seniors get to interact with therapy horses at S'pore nursing homes & active ageing centres

A horse in a nursing home?

That might not actually be an impossible sight, with the Feb. 11 launch of a new pilot programme.

Titled "Haydays with Horses", the two-year pilot started in October 2024 and will last till 2026.

The programme was launched by EQUAL — a non-profit that provides animal-assisted services with horses — in partnership with Temasek Foundation, NTUC Health, NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, and the National Healthcare Group’s Institute of Mental Health.

This will be Singapore's first equine-assisted programme to promote active ageing.

To promote healthy ageing

All of EQUAL's 15 therapy horses will be involved in the pilot.

In particular, their six miniature horses will be brought around the heartlands to NTUC Health nursing homes and active ageing centres to spark some joy.

Seniors will also get to interact with the larger horses at EQUAL's stable.

These horses are all former racing, polo or riding school horses.

Around 800 seniors will get to interact with, groom and feed the horses, which will help seniors "stay active, engaged, and socially connected", and "promote healthy ageing", a press release wrote.

Therapy horses are believed to be able to improve "cognitive functioning, psychological well-being, and social connectedness among elderly".

Chan Su Yee, CEO of NTUC Health, shared that many of the seniors had never interacted with horses before, and the encounter was "both thrilling and meaningful".

Top photo from EQUAL and Mothership