Mini Horse, Mighty Hope by Debbie Garcia-Bengochea

Author:Debbie Garcia-Bengochea
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Inspirational;PET006000;NAT016000;REL036000
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2021-09-17T00:00:00+00:00

11

“I hope you dance.”

The gray-haired woman in the wheelchair appeared uninterested in the horse we brought to the memory unit that day. She sat there, quietly smoothing her floral-print blouse. When it came her turn to meet the horse, she looked up with a weak smile. “Would you like to say hello?” I asked.

She didn’t answer. The horse reached forward and leaned her snowy-white head over the arm of the woman’s wheelchair.

“Would you like to pat her?”

No response.

“Her name is Sweetheart.”

At that, the woman blinked and caught her breath, as if it was the first time she noticed the horse that was practically in her lap. Her eyes opened wide. The detached smile now connected. “Sweetheart?” She threw her arms out and caressed the horse. “Let me call you Sweetheart,” she sang in a soft, warm voice, “I’m in love with you.” She went on to sing the old ballad in its entirety, swaying as if rocking the horse. I wondered if in her younger years she had sung that song to her own sweetheart, or maybe to soothe a child. Sweetheart nuzzled gently as she was being serenaded.

The tender closeness between the two made me melt. Just a mention of the name “Sweetheart” had unlocked a memory—or maybe just an emotion—that spoke to the woman. And her responding through music was something I’d seen many times before. Doctors and therapists recognize the value of music for Alzheimer’s patients. Those who have trouble recalling the day of the week and names of their relatives often sing along when golden oldies are played, remembering every word of a favorite hymn or a song from their past.

One time the staff at a day program for people with Alzheimer’s brought in a piano player. The audience smiled and clapped to the music as we brought the horses around. Another time Aladdin, Cloudburst, and Wakanda were invited to a sock hop at an assisted living center. We love using costumes to help create a mood, so a volunteer sewed old-fashioned poodle skirts for the fillies, and Aladdin wore a blanket designed to look like a leather jacket and jeans. As we walked down the halls to greet the residents, we played the fifties tune “I Found My Thrill on Blueberry Hill.” Suddenly doors started to open and the residents came out of their rooms to join the fun. Even those in wheelchairs paraded along with the music as the horses led everyone to the hop.

I’ve always had an interest in the way music can be used to enrich activities. I began using music when I was a teacher as a way to help calm and settle my students. In the mornings, the boys and girls would enter the classroom to the strains of classical music, signaling a transition from the busy, noisy hallway to a peaceful place of learning. Some of my students were children with disabilities and were already exposed to music therapy. They found it soothing at times, such as when they were overstimulated.

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