TECHNOLOGY

Peabody Miniature Horse Dies Following 'Kelly Clarkson Show' Segment

The miniature horse was trained as a therapy pony that provided emotional support to people in need.

2021-10-08 13:10

Peabody, the miniature therapy horse who gained a huge following on social media, died following filming for a segment for NBC's The Kelly Clarkson Show. The miniature horse was trained by Bonsall, California resident Faith San Severino as a therapy pony that provided emotional support to people in need, such as Alzheimer's patients and veterans, through her business Faithful Minis. Severino told NBC 7 that Peabody, who measured just 16-and-half inches in height, was the smallest miniature horse in the world.

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TikTok videos featuring Peabody have racked up hundreds of millions of views, with people all over the world engaging with the video content. Part of Peabody's appeal was that his own personal story was inspiring to many. At three days old, the horse had so many health issues that vets were going to put him down. "He couldn't walk. He couldn't eat because his jaw was out of alignment. He was deaf. They thought he was blind," San Severino told NBC 7. "I thought, 'Well, if they're going to put him down, I'm going to take him home and we'll give it a shot' because he had a real will to live." After taking him home, San Severino created special shoes for Peabody that helped him to walk. Eventually, he grew into his jaw and was able to eat again. In addition, his eyesight improved, although he remained deaf, according to vets. Peabody gained such a large following, that he caught the attention of NBC's Kelly Clarkson Show and was featured on an episode that aired this Thursday. The end of the show featured a tribute to the miniature horse who passed away following filming for the segment. One Facebook user, Frank Scimeca, on the Faithful Minis Facebook page posted a message on Friday saying: "I watched the Kelly Clarkson show with Pea on it..I do have to say I got a little teary-eyed at the Memorium at the end of the show." Numerous social media users paid tribute to Peabody in the comments to a video posted to the Faithful Minis TikTok account on Thursday. The video showed Peabody walking around and drinking water when he was still alive. "Such a little guy to have made such a big impact. Pea is missed by everyone!" said one TikTok user Bev Singler. "I miss this boy so much thank you for sharing him with everyone," said user shawngathings1. San Severino told Newsweek that videos of Peabody had garnered nearly 400 million views. "He touched so many lives. I still get calls and emails and texts etc. I have never known anything like this animal to touch so many people," she said. Update 10/15/21, 11:11 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include a comment from Faith San Severino.