His tiny feet don't fit regular horse shoes, so his owners have taken an unconventional approach to help steady him.

"They don't make horse shoes small enough, so we have teddy bear shoes from Build-A-Bear Workshop that he wears so he doesn't slide around," Nerida Winters said.

Ms Winters and her daughter Ellen are the owners of Maverick, a three-year-old miniature horse, who doubles as a therapy horse.

Maverick's name was inspired the movie Top Gun due to him having a goose-shaped white patch on his left-hand side.

The horse regularly visits nursing homes across Canberra, providing relief and much-needed smiles for many patients, particularly those with dementia.

Ms Winters said he has a visible effect.

"Maverick's always been special, he just loves people," she said.

"The joy that he brings to people really shows. We often see people that don't talk or socialise smile and laugh and start talking."

Maverick has been doing therapy work for the past year, having undergone training to prepare him for a variety of situations.

"It's all about familiarisation to situations that he would be put in and to provide as safe an environment as we can for him," Ms Winters said.

"Lots of people are putting their hands on Maverick, so he needs to be confident with people touching him and managing different situations."

Over the past 12 months, Maverick has been more in demand than ever at nursing homes across the city, by the power of word of mouth.

He regularly conducts visits to nursing homes run by Goodwin and Uniting Care and he also does work with Pegasus Riding for the Disabled.

For many patients living with dementia, visits from Maverick can bring back memories from decades past.

"Lots of people in nursing homes have had a life with horses, either riding them when they were kids or used horses for stock work on farms, or they were pets, or even competed on them in their younger days," Ms Winters said.

"Seeing Maverick brings back memories and they're able to speak about these things and it brightens their day."

In the 12 months Maverick has been working as a therapy animal, his owner said many people said the visits have been a highlight.

"There was one woman in a dementia ward who didn't recognise at first there was a horse in front of her, and it wasn't until she was nuzzling him for a few seconds that it then connected," Ms Winters said.

"She then became really excited, and then we heard stories about how she used to ride to school."

While animals such as dogs are more commonly used as therapy animals in nursing homes and hospitals, Ms Winters said horses have benefits in the area.

"It's definitely something not many people would expect to see. Not everyone associates with dogs, but many other people love horses," she said.

Winston Churchill was once quoted as saying "there is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man".

For Ms Winters and her daughter Ellen, they get to see those words in action almost every day.