Tuesday marked the first time Willie Nelson, the pony not the country singer, visited the patients at Akron Children’s Hospital.

Nelson, a gray therapy pony, is following in the hoofsteps of Petie the Pony, who’d been visiting the hospital for 20 years before passing away last fall. Petie was the first ever pony allowed into a U.S. hospital in the name of cheering up patients.

In preparation of entering the hospital earlier this week, Nelson’s handlers from Victory Gallop, a Bath farm with a therapeutic horse program, gave the animal a surgical soap bath and wrapped tape around his tail and feet. After surviving the trailer ride and elevator ride, the 7-year-old pony met with various patients during a concise yet memorable visit.

Nelson, who’s been training to be around people in confined spaces for months now, is set to visit again next week.

Watch the hospital’s video of the pony’s first visit below: 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=TrbZ5x0lH08
To find out more about Willie Nelson’s meanderings, follow him on Twitter.

This article appears in May 2-8, 2018.