Moving reunion for Margaret and her horse
The wish of 86-year-old Bridgwater woman Margaret Brown to be reunited with her horse, Indy, after a separation of 12 months has been realized thanks to the efforts of staff at the dementia care home where she lives.
Margaret, who has been a resident at Avalon Nursing Home since March 2025 has taken care of Indy, since she was a six-month old foal.
Margaret has always had horses in her life and used to ride. Indy is now kept at a family friend’s property.
“It meant the world to see Indy again,” said Margaret. “She is such a beautiful, gentle horse. Being able to see her, touch her and rub noses with her like we used to was just wonderful.”
Lisandra Costa, a member of the activities team, said: “We believe the assistance we provide at Avalon isn’t restricted to daily life in the home, so we happily go above and beyond to meet our residents’ needs and wishes in any way we realistically can.
“Margaret has a great sense of humor and a lively personality, but she is not now able to mobilize without assistance.
“She told us how much she missed Indy, and how she would love to see her again, so we made her dream come true and arranged for Margaret to be accompanied to spend some time with her treasured horse.
“Margaret was super appreciative and grateful for the opportunity and the time spent with Indy, and we’ve promised her we will be doing it again.
“Once she was back at Avalon Margaret made sure she had the names of the staff who organized the outing so she could know who to thank and speak to for the next visit.
“Avalon has a scheme called ‘You wish – we do’ and Margaret’s outing is just one example of the dreams we have helped come true.”
Avalon Nursing Home is run by award-winning specialist dementia care provider Camelot Care who have other homes in Plymouth, Wellington and Yeovil and will be opening a fifth in Holsworthy in Devon later this year.
