On The Up: Moxy the wellbeing pony brings joy to children at Hawke’s Bay Hospital

End-of-life doula Alysha Jayne with wellbeing pony Moxy outside Hawke's Bay Hospital.

An unusual visitor turned into the mane attraction for the day at Hawke’s Bay Hospital, bringing joy to those who need it most.

Moxy the wellbeing pony is the sidekick of end-of-life doula Alysha Jayne.

Jayne runs Grief to Peace – a service that assists individuals to have peaceful and dignified deaths.

She said it had been a dream of hers to incorporate a pony into palliative care to help “soften the space”.

Moxy is a nine-hand miniature pony described by Jayne as “a bit of a bitzer”.

Last week, Jayne parked her horse float at the hospital, took Moxy into the paediatrics ward and spent an hour “filling cups of love and light”.

“Putting a pony in with these people, I knew that it was just going to help, whether that brings reprieve for just a moment,” she said.

She said she knew it was going to be an extraordinary experience, but didn’t realise the magnitude of Moxy’s presence on the ward.

“It was phenomenal.

“There were tears, there were children who walked out of their bedrooms who had been bedridden for weeks. There was a girl who hadn’t sat up who sat up in her bed.

“I can’t even find the words to express the level of happiness and joy it brought to that ward.”

End-of-life doula Alysha Jayne with wellbeing pony Moxy chats with a patient of Hawke's Bay Hospital's paediatric ward.

Jayne said Moxy had taken it all in his stride.

“I think he innately knows his job.

“His heart is so big that for people who are unwell or on a health journey, it just lifts their heart.

“He was just being this beautiful present pony, and unbeknownst to him, he was healing these people in these moments.”

Moxy’s hospital visit was just the start, and Jayne was planning visits to other support groups and facilities, so more people could get their share of the love.

“My dreams and my aspirations are enormous and I’d like to do it with him,” she said.