VIDEO: Edna's equine dreams come true. . . aged 101 years old!

A Shetland pony made a special visit to one delighted care home resident in Buckingham on Thursday.

Eric, a black three-year-old pony, made the trip from Padbury to Hamilton House to visit Edna, a resident there 98 years his senior.

Edna’s daughter, Marianne Murphy, who helped her mother to see and pet the horse, said that Edna was very excited about seeing Eric because she “loves animals to bits”.

Marianne said: “Before the occasion, she didn’t quite understand what was going to happen and why.

“But when he was here, she was very excited about it and it just made her very happy.”

Edna’s fondness for animals started in her younger days, having grown up on a farm where she used to own horses.

It was staff at the Brighterkind care home who made arrangements for the barely one- metre tall visitor through its Wishing Well Programme.

Residents can make requests through the programme for all kinds of things, from cuddly teddy bears to day trips out, depending on the capability of the resident.

Laura Smith, one of the nurses at the home, added: “We get our activity team to talk to the residents to find out what they want and we deliver that as much as we possibly can.

“This is what we’re all about, making sure that if there’s something a resident wants and something that they’re passionate about, we’re going to help them to fulfil their wishes. It’s lovely to be a small part of that.”

Sasha Goodman, of Hamilton House, said: “We just want to make our residents happy. Edna is happy when she talks about horses. Just speaking about horses, she’s lit up and she’s smiling. Most daily conversation is about her horses and how they responded to her when she had them.”