Submitted photo Residents at Heritage Pointe Senior Living got up close with therapy horses from the Lee-Mar Ranch Equine Center last week

MARSHALL — Therapy horses Nitro and Gambler got a warm welcome from residents at Heritage Pointe Senior Living last week.

“We really enjoyed the experience and hearing the residents reminisce about their own experiences with horses growing up,” said Heritage Pointe director of community life Laurie Ourada. “Many expressed wanting to sit on a horse again and go for a trot across a pasture.”

On Tuesday, volunteers from the Lee-Mar Ranch Equine Center near Granite Falls brought therapy horses to Marshall. Heritage Pointe residents got to meet the two horses, as well as Foxy the pony, out on the front lawn. Residents had apple slices ready as a special treat for their visitors, Ourada said.

“One of my favorite things to do for our residents is to engage them with things they fondly remember from growing up and reminiscing on ‘years gone by,’ ” Ourada said.

“When I saw an article a few months back about therapy horses visiting an assisted living center in the (Twin Cities) metro area, I decided to research where we could bring some horses in from locally. I reached out to Prairie Home Hospice, and they were able to connect me with a volunteer from Lee-Mar Ranch.”

The Lee-Mar Ranch Equine Center provides affordable and accessible horse activities that support people with disabilities and children at risk.

“We have visited seven nursing homes and assisted living facilities this year,” Lee-Mar Ranch volunteer Kris Peterson said. “It’s always so heartwarming to see the smiles and reactions from the residents. It brings back memories for so many, which of course is so fun to hear their stories.”

“Watching the residents engage with the horses was amazing,” said Courtney Hedeen, community life assistant at Heritage Pointe. “I know many of them grew up with horses and likely hadn’t seen a horse in years, so to watch residents reunite with Lee-Mar’s horses was the most beautiful thing. Our residents would love to see them again sometime.”

Peterson said Lee-Mar Ranch Equine Center also does riding activities and therapy work with youth.

“I have been a volunteer for four years. It’s so rewarding to see the kids’ faces and how they react to riding, and the horses for the therapy program and Special Olympics,” Peterson said.

“The children gain trust in the volunteers, which is so gratifying. All of the volunteers feel very blessed to be a part of Lee-Mar.”