[nagdu] Comparison of miniature horses and dogs as guides, was: Re: Dogs, NFB and cane travel

cheryl echevarria cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com
Sun Aug 14 17:57:16 UTC 2011


go to guidehorse.org

Leading the Way in Independent Travel!

Cheryl Echevarria
http://www.echevarriatravel.com<http://www.echevarriatravel.com/>
631-456-5394
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  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Peggy<mailto:pshald at neb.rr.com> 
  To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users<mailto:nagdu at nfbnet.org> 
  Sent: Sunday, August 14, 2011 11:17 AM
  Subject: Re: [nagdu] Comparison of miniature horses and dogs as guides,was: Re: Dogs, NFB and cane travel


  I can't get the website to come up, it says website or page not found.



  -----Original Message----- 
  From: cheryl echevarria
  Sent: Sunday, August 14, 2011 7:43 AM
  To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
  Subject: Re: [nagdu] Comparison of miniature horses and dogs as guides,was: 
  Re: Dogs, NFB and cane travel

  Dan:

  http://www.guidehorse.org/<http://www.guidehorse.org/<http://www.guidehorse.org/%3Chttp://www.guidehorse.org/>>

  Leading the Way in Independent Travel!

  Cheryl Echevarria
  http://www.echevarriatravel.com<http://www.echevarriatravel.com/<http://www.echevarriatravel.com%3chttp//www.echevarriatravel.com/>>
  631-456-5394
  reservations at echevarriatravel.com<mailto:reservations at echevarriatravel.com<mailto:reservations at echevarriatravel.com%3Cmailto:reservations at echevarriatravel.com>>

  Affiliated as an Independent Contractor with Montrose Travel CST-1018299-10

  Affiliated as an Independent Contractor with Absolute Cruise & Travel, Inc.
    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Dan Weiner<mailto:dcwein at dcwein.cnc.net<mailto:dcwein at dcwein.cnc.net>>
    To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog 
  Users'<mailto:nagdu at nfbnet.org<mailto:nagdu at nfbnet.org>>
    Sent: Sunday, August 14, 2011 2:14 AM
    Subject: Re: [nagdu] Comparison of miniature horses and dogs as 
  guides,was: Re: Dogs, NFB and cane travel


    Thanks for going over this info and your experiences with us.
    Is there any training establishment  putting out horse guides at present?

    Dan W. and the Carter Nut



    -----Original Message-----
    From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org<mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org<mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org%3Cmailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org>> 
  [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
    Of Ann Edie
    Sent: Sunday, August 14, 2011 2:00 AM
    To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
    Subject: [nagdu] Comparison of miniature horses and dogs as guides,was: 
  Re:
    Dogs, NFB and cane travel

    Hi, Larry,

    Comparing is always a risky business, as it is difficult to extrapolate 
  from
    individuals to species.  But I will give you a few comparisons from my own
    experience:

    In guiding ability, focus, enthusiasm for the job, accuracy,
    problem-solving, memory for routes, and ability to look ahead and plan a 
  way
    around obstacles and tricky areas, I would say that my miniature horse 
  guide
    is right up there with the best of guide dogs.

    I have found her pace to be more even than that of the dogs I have worked
    with, that is, she doesn't speed up in unfamiliar places or when first
    starting out, and slow down on the way home or on regular routes.

    She doesn't seem to get bored with regular routes.  But she is always up 
  for
    exploring new places.  And she doesn't argue if I want to deviate from a
    habitual route the way my dog guides often did.  Panda just seems to say,
    "Oh, you want to go that way today.  Okay, let's go!"  Actually, she seems
    to be able to read my mind and turn in the direction I want to go, without
    my even giving an overt signal, even if it is a change from the way we 
  have
    gone a hundred times.  I think she is picking up on subtle changes in my
    body positioning.  Or maybe she is actually reading the pictures in my 
  mind.

    No, she doesn't chase squirrels, or cats, or dogs.  She will occasionally
    snatch a bite of grass as we're walking along, but she has never bolted 
  away
    from me into traffic to chase after grass, or anything else, as some of my
    dogs did after other animals.

    I think, in gemeral, horses are better at paying attention to and judging
    overhead obstacles than dogs are.

    And it is my experience that Panda is better at being careful on ice and
    other slippery or uneven footing than are dogs in general.

    I also think that since horses naturally travel in groups of moving
    individuals, that they naturally understand and enjoy the process of 
  moving
    among other moving beings and objects, and easily calculate tragectories 
  of
    many objects simultaneously.

    You are right in saying that horses don't greet people by sniffing 
  crotches.

    Horses have a greeting custom which seems to me to be more polite in a 
  human
    context, that is, horses put their little noses close to their person's
    face, as if to sniff the breath, perhaps to find out what the person has
    been eating lately.  And horses don't lick people's faces either, although 
  I
    do know some who do lick people's hands.

    One of the biggest differences between horses and dogs as guides is that
    horses have a much longer life span, and can, therefore, work for much
    longer than dogs can.  Panda is now ten and a half years old, yet she is
    still a very young horse, just coming into her prime.  If she were a dog, 
  I
    would certainly have to be thinking of her approaching retirement by this
    point.  As it is, she is still learning and eager and very healthy, and 
  will
    probably continue to be so for many more years.  Although one can never 
  tell
    how long a particular individual is going to remain healthy and want to
    continue working, it is not at all unusual for miniature horses to work 
  and
    remain active well into their twenties, and to live well up into their
    thirties.  In fact, one of my own riding horses, an Arabian, is 33 years 
  old
    and going strong.

    Miniature horse guides do have some disadvantages as compared with dog
    guides.  Being grazing animals which would naturally eat almost 
  continuously
    throughout the day, rather than predators who eat large, widely-spaced 
  meat
    meals, miniature horses do need to eat more often than do dogs.  I feed
    Panda about 4 times per day, as compared with the once or twice a day that
    most dogs are fed.  Also, at least my miniature horse, needs to relieve
    herself more often than do most dogs, about every 2 hours during the day.

    Another difference between guide dogs and horses is that the miniature
    horses used as guides are bigger than guide dogs.  They are also less
    flexible, so don't fit under a chair or into as small a space as do dogs.
    Panda does ride on public transportation without difficulty, and rides in 
  my
    family car, which happens to be a mini-van.  She has also ridden in 
  smaller
    cars.  Some miniature horse guides have flown on airplanes, standing or
    lying in the bulkhead row.  But the need for additional space is certainly 
  a
    consideration.  I have not had any difficulty finding places for her to be
    out of the way in restaurants or other public places.  Nowadays, if a 
  place
    of public accommodation complies with the ADA and has enough space for a
    person who uses a wheelchair, then there will be no difficulty finding 
  space
    for a miniature horse service animal.

    Oh, one more possible advantage of miniature horses as guides as compared
    with dogs is that some people who object to dogs on religeous or cultural
    grounds have no objection to miniature horses.  And people who are afraid 
  of
    dogs because of their associations with police dogs or guard dogs, usually
    have no fear of a cute little cuddly-looking miniature horse.  (As far as
    the allergy question is concerned, I don't think there is any difference 
  in
    the number of people who are truly allergic to dogs and those who are
    allergic to horses.)

    A question that people often ask is whether the bonding process between
    person and guide is the same with a miniature horse as it is with a dog
    guide, and whether miniature horses make as good companions as do dogs.  I
    would say that the bonding process and the process of learning to 
  understand
    and to communicate with the partner is much the same with a miniature 
  horse
    as it is with a dog.  And I would say that miniature horses definitely 
  make
    wonderful companions and friends.  They have their own individual
    personalities, favorite toys, activities, places, and ways of interacting
    with their people, just as dogs do.  But they definitely do seem to come 
  to
    regard us as their family or members of their close social group, and they
    enjoy participating in the activities of their human family or just 
  hanging
    out close to their people, just as dogs do.

    Anyway, all of the above is my opinion, of course, based on my limited
    experience of both guide dogs and guide horses.  It is not meant in any 
  way
    to denegrate guide dogs nor to influence anyone's decision as to choice of
    service animal species.

    Best,
    Ann

    ----- Original Message -----
    From: "Larry D. Keeler" <lkeeler at comcast.net<mailto:lkeeler at comcast.net<mailto:lkeeler at comcast.net%3Cmailto:lkeeler at comcast.net>>>
    To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
    <nagdu at nfbnet.org<mailto:nagdu at nfbnet.org<mailto:nagdu at nfbnet.org%3Cmailto:nagdu at nfbnet.org>>>
    Sent: Saturday, August 13, 2011 5:17 PM
    Subject: [nagdu] Dogs, NFB and cane travel


    > Good points Ann!  I also get the feeling that NFB at best tolerates us a
    > the service animal users.  Our state president however always says to
    > us,"if you don't like what NFB is about, then chang it".  No, I don't 
  want

    > to change what we're about entirely.  I believe that everyone should be
    > taught cane and braille skills.  Especially children who have to grow 
  into

    > the responsibility of having and caring for an animal.  Also, older 
  folks
    > should be taught to use the cane and probblem solve before becoming an
    > animal user.  I have met some dog users who expect there dogs to find
    > everything for them and protect them from other people as well.  holly 
  did

    > learn where the coffee pot was at Pilot though!  It was the first place 
  we

    > went every morning!  I also have heard that stuff about Seeing Eye and
    > them claiming to take the best of the best!  I'm not really sure about
    > that but I have read 2 books about the school and they certainly give 
  that

    > impression!  I don't know if they're right or wrong but I have met folks
    > from the school who have impressed me and others who I hoped there dog
    > would would lead them to the edge of a big holw and drop them in! 
  lastly,

    > you can write me off list or publish it on list but I'm really curious
    > about the differences between horse and dog guides.  I know that horses
    > and dogs are both quite intelligent but that they do different things 
  with

    > that intelligence.  I don't think for example that horses are likely to
    > chase squirrels!  Nor do I suspect they are into crotch sniffing but I 
  am
    > not sure about that one!
    > Intelligence is always claimed but rarely proven!
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