Winter Garden resident, horses comprise Fuzzy Therapy Miniature Horses

WINTER GARDEN  A severely clinically depressed woman who never shows emotion smiles and giggles when he nuzzles her hand. A girl in a wheelchair stands and walks with his assistance.

When miniature therapy horse Rommy comes around, miracles happen. 

Rommy, along with fellow therapy mini horses Rascal and Bandit, lives in Winter Garden with owner Alicia Dooley. All three horses are part of Dooley’s newly nonprofit organization — Fuzzy Therapy Miniature Horses Inc. — and they visit those in need of “fuzzy therapy” in nursing homes, homeless preschools, events for those with disabilities and more.

Rommy was given to Dooley by people who had never owned a horse before. He was timid and somewhat neglected but came into the family and took over the herd. 

“He’s very sweet and endearing, yet stubborn,” she said. “If he really doesn’t feel like doing something, he won’t fight you but he’ll stand his ground. That timid personality is what makes him so wonderful with the kids with special needs, because he really does connect with them most. He’s great at what he does, and he loves what he does. He loves people and people love him.”

He and Bandit were meant to be companion animals, but Rommy was causing havoc. He explored cabinets, knocking them over and taking things out of them. Dooley realized that he needed a job, so she trained him to pull a cart.

“I’ve been around horses my whole life — riding, show jumping and competing nationally — but I’d never trained a horse to pull a cart,” Dooley said. “He was really good at that, but it wasn’t enough — he loves people. We started walking him around to the subdivisions, over by Lowe’s, and he was just really interested in the people so I said ‘I’ve got to do something with people.’”

Dooley met Judy Skilton and Ed Dobski at Health Central Park in Winter Garden, and Dobski asked if she would be willing to bring Rommy to visit the residents. They started visiting in August 2015 and have gone every month since, and the organization continues to grow. They have joined the West Orange Chamber of Commerce, and she and her board of directors not only incorporated FTMH in May, they also officially became a nonprofit in July.

“In the past year, we’ve done Step Out Walk for Diabetes, National Night Out, Firefighters for Autism Awareness, Florida Hospital for Children, We Speak For Them, Read to Sydney, Firm Foundation Preschool at Matthew’s Hope, Arnold Palmer, Inspired Living, and we went downtown to visit with the survivors at the Pulse site,” Dooley said. “Our mission is to bring smiles to everyone by sharing the love from our little horses with big hearts. It’s all about heart, sharing, love and giving back.”

Dooley’s friends Bonnie Riley and Marnie LeGros are on the FTMH board of directors, and LeGros’ children, Megan and Parker, are the head volunteers. 

“I started going to Health Central Park with her and seeing what Rommy does and how he just brings so much joy to the residents there,” LeGros said. “How could I not jump on board? It’s amazing to see.”

Most of the group’s visits are on Saturdays, since the adults all have full-time jobs. They do one to two visits each week, and sometimes Rommy even arrives dressed in costume. For St. Patrick’s Day, he wore a green horseshoe bling necklace, and in the summertime, he was wearing water wings.

Currently it’s just Rommy doing the inside visits, because Rascal needs to be gelded and Bandit is still in training. Once the other horses are ready to begin their therapy careers, the group will need a trailer to transport more than one. Rommy currently rides in the backseat of Dooley’s truck.

Additionally, the care of the horses is time-consuming and expensive. Between feed, vet bills, farrier bills and more, each one costs about $500 per month. And when preparing for hospital visits, they can’t just go straight from the barn. They receive hourlong baths to clean them from head to tail and get their hooves sprayed with cleaner. Then, they are dressed in boots, vests and costumes. Finally, Dooley and the rest of the group have to pack their stuff into the truck — water, feed, bags and more.

“There’s always a story with every visit; there’s always a takeaway,” Dooley said. “On the other side watching that interaction, we get our fuzzy therapy too.”

“That’s what they do, is they truly bring love and it’s unconditional immediately and people get that,” LeGros added. “I think that’s a beautiful thing, just to have that.”

Contact Danielle Hendrix at [email protected].