[nagdu] Questions and Comments from J. Q. Public

[Ann Edie]

Hi, Albert,

Many people seem to be confused by the term "pony."  A pony is any 
small--not young--horse, that is, any full-grown horse whose height at the 
top of the withers (shoulder) is less than 59 inches (or just under 5 feet.) 
A miniature horse is any full-grown horse which is less than 34 inches tall 
at the withers, or less than 36 inches tall at the withers, depending on 
which miniature horse registry we are talking about.  So all miniature 
horses are, by definition, ponies.  The breed name is, however, "miniature 
horse," perhaps because the miniature horse is supposed to look more like a 
full-sized horse than a pony in body type.

Of course, by this definition, my Icelandic horses, and all other Icelandic 
horses as far as I know, are also ponies, because they are under 59 inches 
tall at the withers.  However, in the case of Icelandic horses, they are the 
only breed of horse on the island country of Iceland, so no distinction 
between sizes or breeds of horse were needed there.  They were completely 
isolated from any other horses for over 1000 years.  And they served all the 
purposes of the many breeds of horses in other lands--riding, farm work, 
racing, family and children's companions, and even as food, although we 
don't like to think about that one!  Although they are "pony" sized, the 
Icelandic horse is ridden by adults, including tall Icelandic men.  They 
have big gaits, not little "pony" gaits, and are very sporty.

Many people think that the word "pony" is the equine equivalent of the word 
"puppy," that is, that it indicates a young animal of the species.  However, 
this is not the case.  A young horse is called a foal (a newborn of either 
gender), a colt (a young male) or a filly (a young female.)

People do seem to understand that not all small dogs are "puppies", although 
children do seem to think that dogs of small breeds will some day grow into 
big dogs.  Certainly, even adults do often use the term "puppy" to refer to 
adult dogs, although they usually understand that there is a distinction in 
meaning between "dog" and "puppy."  Since most people are less familiar with 
horses and horse terminology than they are with dogs and dog terminology, 
the confusion about the term "pony" is not surprising.

When people see Panda--a tiny, fuzzy, cute equine, they naturally assume 
that she is a baby, and they use the term "pony" to refer to her (that is, 
if they can correctly identify her as an equine at all) because they think 
that "pony" is the term for a baby horse.

So Panda is technically a "pony", although her breed is "miniature horse". 
But she is at this point no longer a baby as she will be 9 years old on 
January 11th, and she is certainly full-grown.

Needless to say, I don't usually have the time to explain all of this to 
passers by on the streets when they ask how big Panda will grow up to be. 
So I just tell them that she is full grown and let it go at that.  Sometimes 
they ask me if she is a Shetland pony, and then I tell them that she is a 
miniature horse.  Then they sometimes ask me what breed of miniature horse 
she is, and I tell them that "miniature horse" is the name of the breed.

Anyway, the questions don't bother me.  I just give a short answer if I 
don't have time for a long conversation and go on my way.  I usually don't 
let people pet Panda when we're walking, both because it interrupts our 
progress and because Panda considers it an invasion of her personal space. 
She does not seek attention or physical contact from strangers, and does not 
appreciate them taking liberties with her.

Sometimes, for the sake of the education of small children, and for the sake 
of providing blind people with the experience of feeling what a miniature 
horse is and what her guide harness feels like, I will allow people to pet 
or touch Panda.  But when working, Panda sees people as moving obstacles to 
be avoided and worked around, rather than as objects of social interaction. 
I guess she is like the type of dog I like best, the one which loves and 
seeks closeness with its human family, but is indifferent to other humans 
and does not seek their affection or attention.

One of the advantages of miniature horses as guides, at least for me, is 
that horses are not as distracted by humans in the environment as are most 
dogs.  Unfortunately, J Q Public often assumes that anything as cute and 
fuzzy and cuddly-looking as Panda must have been put there especially for 
their fondling pleasure.  So, to a certain extent,  I have to protect Panda 
from their unwanted and presumptuous advances.  But this is no different 
than when I worked with guide dogs and had to run interference between my 
dog and people who insisted on trying to pet or feed my dog while it was 
working.  So, it's all in a day's work.

Best,
Ann

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Albert J Rizzi" <albert at myblindspot.org>
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, January 01, 2010 6:44 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Questions and Comments from J. Q. Public


> Thank you ann., I needed a chuckle, sorry panda and you have to go through
> that.  I think my favorite is how big will the pony get. Does not the term
> pony mean miniature  horse, and is probably full grown as a pony? Then I
> really got a kick out of people asking if it was a dog. Happy new year 
> from
> me and doxy.
>
> Albert J. Rizzi, M.Ed.
> CEO/Founder
> My Blind Spot, Inc.
> 90 Broad Street - 18th Fl.
> New York, New York  10004
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> "The person who says it cannot be done, shouldn't interrupt the one who is
> doing it."
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