The white miniature horse was one of three to visit young patients, and she let at least one startling, loud cry escape from her small body.

Children ran hands through the horses' manes, fed them Shredded Wheat cereal, or just looked at them through a tangle of IV poles and wheelchairs in the children's play area on the seventh floor.

Maurice Soles held his granddaughter, Shellie Nobles, 5, on one knee close to the tiniest horse, Gloria. The little girl with pink fingernails clung to her grandfather as she gazed over her blue face mask at the brown-and-white animal.

"She knows she can't touch him," said Wanda Soles, her grandmother.

Shellie, who is fighting an infection after a bone marrow transplant, had to give away her own miniature horse, which she kept at home in Chadbourn, Soles explained.

The surprise visit for the children included rope tricks and songs by a cowboy and a cowgirl, and a short Native American dance complete with a costume of brilliant red and orange feathers.

Large animal veterinarian Don Hoglund organized the visit with horse trainer and performer Tommy Turvey, a former colleague from Disney's Paris park.

The hospital visit Wednesday was one of several appearances leading up to big shows this weekend at the N.C. State Fairgrounds.

The performers staged a show without animals earlier Wednesday at Duke Children's Hospital. They also put on a short mule-and-miniature-horse show Tuesday at the Raleigh Boys Club for about 300 boys and girls. The performers were working with sponsors to give away 1,000 tickets to underprivileged children for the fairgrounds shows.

"Just seeing the kids and the challenges they face, it inspires me," Turvey said.

A couple of the parents, too, said the horses were good for the children

Hope Byrd watched her 6-year-old son, Colby, feed a horse and then try to stare it down, his eyes about even with the horse's.

Colby was in the hospital this week for chemotherapy for a relapse of leukemia. Despite the IV lines and tall metal poles he and newfound friend Shellie Nobles wheeled around, the two made the most of their time in the play area, pushing small cars on a play mat after the performers left.

"Some of the kids have been up here for weeks, months. They have a long way to go," Hope Byrd said. "Things like this help encourage them."

Maurice Soles said sometimes special visits can work as an incentive for the small patients.

"For instance, if they don't want to take their medication, but they know there's a surprise if they do," he said.

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