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Adorable ‘Pony Bowl’ features miniature horses playing football

Adorable ‘Pony Bowl’ features miniature horses playing football
Posted at 12:30 PM, Feb 13, 2023
and last updated 2023-02-13 12:34:00-05

Move over, Puppy Bowl! Mane In Heaven therapy horses are taking the internet by storm with their latest football-playing video. The “Mini Bowl” video, showing a group of adorable therapy horses from the nonprofit organization kicking around a football (that is definitely not regulation-sized) has gone viral. And we’re here for it.

The organization, which has a mission statement of “connecting people with miniature therapy horses to promote empathy, kindness and overall well-being with miniature horses,” filmed the action outside its Barrington Hills, Illinois barn. The game was held in anticipation of Sunday’s Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs.

The 4-minute video (which you can watch below on the nonprofit’s YouTube channel) shows the beloved horses decked out in cozy red ponchos pushing an oversized inflatable football around with their noses and eventually deflating it with their teeth. The cute little horses dashing through the snow competing for hold of the ball is set to an instrumental soundtrack — and it’s just plain heartwarming.

This is the second year of the Mini Bowl, and fans are hopeful that it will become a tradition. The diminutive horses and the volunteers that make the organization a success visit hospitals, schools, nursing and retirement homes and veteran facilities. But they also make time to relax and get a little exercise.

“When our horses are not doing therapy work they love to play and have fun,” Mane in Heaven’s president, Dina Morgan, told the New York Post. “How can you not smile watching these adorable minis play?”

Morgan noted that Mane In Heaven, which is run entirely by volunteers, is in need of support. Their most pressing concern right now is to find a suitable transportation vehicle for their therapy horses.

“Currently they ride in a mini bus which is in need of repairs and has over 200,000 miles on it,” Morgan told MarketWatch. “So, fingers crossed, and hoping additional donations will come in to meet our goal of obtaining a transit vehicle so the minis can visit hospitals.”

To donate or find out more, visit maneinheaven.org.

While fans could vote for an MVP during the game, no winning team has been announced. But let’s be honest — anyone who watches the adorable match is the real winner.

And don’t worry, puppies, we still love you, too!

This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Check out Simplemost for additional stories.