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

[Ann Edie]

Hi, Cindy,

Horses do naturally lie down for periods of time to sleep, although they can 
also sleep standing up.  But some of the guide horses are trained to lie 
down on cue so that they can be put in a safe position during take off on a 
plane, for example.  (I don't know whether lying down is actually a safer 
position for a horse to be in for take offs and landings, or whether this is 
just another one of those air line myths, like the one that says all service 
animals are best placed in the bulkhead row.)  I know that when riding in 
cars or trailers, horses never lie down, but find their balance on their 
feet.

I pick up after Panda just as I would after a dog.

The length of the training period for a miniature horse guide depends on the 
circumstances of the training.  If the animal is being owner-trained or is 
being privately trained, the schedule is up to the individuals involved. 
When the Guide Horse Foundation was training guide horses, the training 
period for the horse was about the same as it is for guide dogs at the 
training programs, about 3 or 4 months.  And the training period for the 
team was about 3 weeks, I think.

Best,
Ann

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cindy Ray" <cindyray at gmail.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, August 14, 2011 3:02 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Comparison of miniature horses and dogs as guides,was: 
Re: Dogs, NFB and cane travel


>I think all of this is interesting, Anne. Horses don't lie down. Do they 
>train these horses to do that, which would be quite uncharacteristic? How 
>long is the training for the horse and then for the person procuring a dog? 
>When you relieve the horse, or the horse relieves itself, do you use 
>diapers or do you pick up similarly.
>
> Once after I had a guide dog, I rode someone's horse. It was a very gentle 
> one, and I am pretty sure it was following its owner, yet when I gave it 
> some direction, it did as I told it to do. Much of that would be very 
> similar I would guess.
> Cindy
>
>
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