Horses Give Hospice Patients Something To Smile About

CHICAGO (CBS) -- He's a former athlete and now he's a one-of-a-kind healthcare volunteer.

His name is Eddy.

CBS 2 photojournalist Lana Hinshaw-Klann has the story of a racehorse who's working with hospice patients.

"His racing name was Seed Money," said trainer Alan Love. "If they can't make it at the track they're always made to do something else."

"Horses are not dumb," said Love. "They know when people are hurt or injured. They know."

Jasmine Chao is a clinical instructor with Avanti Wellness and Rehabilitation.

"We want to focus on hospice and palliative care patients," said Chao. "We want to see by bring horses and increase this mental alertness interaction whether it translates to higher quality of life and decreased pain medication use. We want to have them heal from the inside out."

Eddy's trainer Alan Love said while the people in hospice don't have a lot of time left "if this makes them happy for one day, why not?"

Eddy has a second job.

He works at Arlington Race Trace. He helps to wrangle the other horses when the riders fall off.