Jill the Retired Pony – A Four-Legged Joy Bringer at Care Homes

EKA has chosen to support an initiative that warms the heart – quite literally. During the spring, the Shetland pony Jill, together with her dedicated team, visited all care homes in the Södertälje municipality. The goal? To spread warmth, create meaningful connections, and foster genuine, gentle encounters across generations.

A group of elderly residents sits in a semicircle at a care home in Södertälje. A door opens, and an elderly woman exclaims, “But it’s a horse!” It is indeed a horse – a small one. Retired pony Jill is on a mission.

She pauses and looks around the room. On her hooves, she wears rubber boots to prevent slipping. She has a rope halter with a long lead rope and is accompanied by her team: Bettina, Celine, and Emilia.

A member of staff asks whether anyone would prefer that Jill not come close or greet them. Then Jill carefully approaches the first resident. She is gently patted on the nose, stays for a moment, and then moves on.

Bettina holds the lead rope and stays close to Jill’s head, making sure that Jill remains calm and comfortable while also ensuring that she does not get too close to anyone. Emilia watches over Jill’s hindquarters, making sure no one approaches too closely, and supports Bettina so that she can focus on Jill’s movements and well-being. Celine talks with the residents and answers their questions.

“How old is the pony?”

“What’s its name?”

“Is it your pony?”

“Where does it live?”

“How did you get here?”

“Has it ever ridden in an elevator?”

“What breed is it?”

Many of the questions are repeated time and time again, but Celine always responds with patience and a smile.

After the first round, Jill takes a short break, then decides where to go next. According to staff at the care homes she has visited, she most often chooses “the people who need it the most.” She approaches them, rests her muzzle on a knee, shoulder, or hand, or gives a gentle “kiss” on the cheek. Tears are shed by the residents and sometimes by the staff as well (and by Bettina, too...).

Sometimes Jill stays for only a few seconds; sometimes she remains for several minutes. After a while, she gently nudges Bettina and paws the ground with a hoof. That is the sign that she would like a break.

She then walks to the center of the semicircle, and Emilia explains that it is time to say goodbye, asking the residents to wave. Everyone waves, and Jill waves back with a front leg. The room fills with laughter and applause. Then Jill goes outside for a little while. She gets something to eat, has a chance to relieve herself, and then moves on to the next ward.

Many of the residents have had horses themselves, and comments such as “I can’t believe I get to pet a horse again,” “I rode one like that when I was little,” or “We used horses to plough the farm when I was young” are not uncommon.

Some residents sit quietly in their chairs and, according to the staff, can be difficult to engage. Yet Jill often manages to get a reaction simply by resting her muzzle in their lap or breathing gently on their hands—most often a smile.

During her spring tour, Jill visited every care home operated by Södertälje Municipality and is now ready for new adventures. She also carries out visits in other municipalities, including Botkyrka.

Some of her visits took place indoors, others outdoors. She usually visited several wards, but never for more than two hours at a time, always with several breaks.

She knows exactly when it is time to be loaded for a visit, because that is when the “lady’s handbag” and hat come out. Then she knows a special mission awaits her—not a competition.

Jill is usually very energetic when she arrives at a care home. There is often some neighing and trotting about. Occasionally, she even trots into the courtyard or up to the first door. But once her “indoor shoes” are put on, she settles down and relaxes. She finds aquariums and televisions fascinating and often stops to watch them for a while.

Jill has not always been the calm and confident retired therapy pony she is today, comfortable indoors and in environments that are unusual for horses. At her very first pay-and-jump event, she threw Celine off five times because she found the jumps frightening and was stressed by the spectators.

Celine was eight years old and a beginner rider when she received Jill—or Tunstas Jill, as she is officially called—as her first pony. Jill was four years old and unbroken at the time. With the help of her mother Bettina and several trainers, they learned and developed together, eventually going on to compete successfully in show jumping, dressage, and working equitation.

It was obvious that Celine would eventually outgrow Jill. However, before Bettina moved to Sweden, she had run a stable with a friend and worked with equine-assisted therapy. She quickly recognized that Jill possessed all the qualities needed to become an excellent therapy pony.

Jill continued her training through extensive environmental desensitisation, obstacle courses designed to build confidence, “Safe Horse” courses with mounted police officer Ulla-Carin Karlsson, a “Brave Horse” course, and training sessions with Sophie from Swedish Equillence. After considerable preparation, the team felt ready and began collaborating with Kultur 365 and Södertälje Municipality. A formal risk assessment was carried out by the municipality, and throughout all of Jill’s visits, there has only been one occasion when she became slightly stressed and needed extra breaks.

Our visits to care homes are incredibly rewarding, and we plan to continue bringing Jill to different facilities in the future.

EKA is proud to support this wonderful initiative. And Jill? She is ready for many more missions.

📸 Follow Jill on Instagram: @pensionarsponny_jill

📩 Would you like to learn more about the training programme or book a visit? Contact the team via Instagram DM, and they will be happy to help you.