Three-year-old Bridget Vinard received a pleasant surprise Sept. 13 when she was visited by a miniature horse named Idaho.
The visit was a welcome respite for Bridget who is being treated for rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare type of cancer that forms in soft tissue. She had surgery in August, and is now in the midst of 42 weeks of chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
“It was really sweet,” said Bridget’s mother, Janelle LaVigne, about the hour-long horse hangout session. “They did Idaho’s hair, and Bridget walked her around the yard like a little cowgirl.”
The 24-inch-tall, cremello-colored horse was provided by Lifting Spirits, a non-profit organization that arranges therapy horse visits with dozens of schools, nursing homes and families like Bridget’s.
Before COVID-19, Lifting Spirits focused largely on taking their mini-horses to schools to educate students in their “Just Say Whoa to Bullying Campaign.” Now that these visits have been made more difficult by the virus, they have shifted their focus to one-on-one visits with children battling disease and elderly nursing home residents.
LaVigne discovered the organization through a friend who had worked with them in the past, reached out, and found that they were happy to support her daughter.
“We were so fortunate to meet her and glad to bring some smiles to her and her family,” said Toni Hadad, President and Founder of Lifting Spirits.
Hadad founded the organization in 2017, after seeing the benefits of therapy horses in the west and midwest, and noticing that no organizations were using them in New England. Over the last three years Hadad acquired five additional horses and has since conducted 85 visits.
“You see the smiles as soon as [the horses] get off the trailer,” said Krista Martin, a member of the Board at Lifting Spirits. “It’s great to see them open up as the visit goes along. It’s a great mental break for kids who are going through a lot.”
Bridget has also received considerable support from the Lynn community. A Gofundme page dedicated to her recovery has far surpassed their initial fundraising goal of $7,000 with $11,160 raised so far. LaVigne pledged that any funds not spent on Bridget’s recovery would be donated to the Jimmy Fund Clinic.
The Gofundme page is “Support Little Bridget Vinard.”
