[nagdu] minature horses as guides

Tue Jun 23 17:38:19 UTC 2015

Hi, Valerie,

I'm happy to answer your questions about guide horses to the best of my
ability.

The ADA and the Department of Justice regulations do recognize miniature
horses as service animals. The only difference between the regulations
concerning service minis and service dogs is that a business owner can ask a
couple extra questions in the case of a service mini. They may ask if the
mini horse is housetrained and if the animal is under the control of the
handler--although these things are certainly also expected of any other
service animal team--and they may consider whether the size and weight of
the service mini can be accommodated within the business--although there are
some service dogs which may be of similar size and weight to the miniature
horse.

As to where miniature horse guides can live, they can live either in the
home or in a small shed or barn outside of the home. My mini horse stays in
a little shed--we call it the Panda cottage--just next to our deck. Her
house has electric lights and is heated in winter. She stays there at night
and when I go out without her. But she also spends time inside the house
when I'm home, and she spends time inside of other buildings when we're
working, of course. Just like the dogs, I relieve her on a schedule, and she
can also indicate to me if she needs to go out to relieve at other times. In
my house, I have a bell hanging on the doorknob and Panda goes to the bell
and rings it when she wants to go out. We live in Upstate New York, where
the weather really doesn't permit  having a "doggy door" that she could
operate by herself to go in and out. But I do know of another miniature
horse guide which lives in Florida and whose owner lives in a ranch-style
house, so the mini horse can come and go from the house at will. That horse
lives in the house and sleeps at night in the walk-in closet, from what I
understand. She even gets bathed in the family shower--very convenient. I
live in the suburbs and have a yard, so Panda also gets some grazing time in
the backyard. 

Best,
Ann

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Valerie Gibson
via nagdu
Sent: Sunday, June 21, 2015 3:18 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Valerie Gibson
Subject: Re: [nagdu] minature horses as guides

Hi,

This is very interesting to me, and i have a couple questions and comments.

First, I don't think the ADA recognizes guide horses.   Is this true?

Second, is it also true that guide horses must live outside rather than
indoors?

Again, very interesting topic.  Thanks for sharing your experience with the
guide horses.
> On Jun 21, 2015, at 1:13 PM, Ann Edie via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi, Pam,
> 
> I don't know which miniature horse guide and partner was shown in the 
> program you saw, but I have worked with a mini horse guide for the 
> past 11 years. I know of 3 or 4 other people who are long-term guide horse
partners.
> Like everything else, there are advantages and disadvantages of using 
> a miniature horse as a guide as compared with using a dog guide or a 
> white cane. The major advantage of using a miniature horse guide is 
> that the lifespan of a miniature horse averages at least twice the
lifespan of a dog.
> Miniature horses live easily into their thirties and can work well 
> into their twenties. The major disadvantages of the mini horse guide 
> as compared with dogs is that they take up a little more space and 
> that they need to be relieved more often than do dogs. I had 3 dog 
> guides before I got my miniature horse guide, and in my experience, my 
> miniature horse performs better and more consistently in her work than 
> did any of my dog guides, even my very excellent first guide. My mini, 
> Panda, started working when she was
> 2 years old. She is now 14, and she just keeps getting better and 
> better, more confident and intuitive. As you might imagine, we 
> communicate by tiny movements and shifts and she seems to read my 
> intentions even before I can consciously give her a cue. And I can 
> look forward to many more years of joyous travels with her. We have 
> had almost no difficulty with access to public places or transportation.
> 
> I don't think many people will be switching from guide dogs to 
> miniature horse guides in the near future because more people are 
> familiar with dogs than with horses and because there is (as far as I 
> know) no active guide horse training program in operation at this 
> time. All the miniature horse guide teams I am familiar with except 
> the first have been owner-trained or privately trained.
> 
> There's lots of information on the web about miniature horse guides 
> and miniature horses used as service animals for people with other
disabilities.
> Information about my partner Panda can be found on the website of her 
> trainer which is: www.theclickercenter.com
> 
> Best,
> Ann
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Pam via 
> nagdu
> Sent: Sunday, June 21, 2015 2:04 PM
> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
> Cc: Pam
> Subject: [nagdu] minature horses as guides
> 
> 
> 
> i was watching a program about ghide dogs the other day and there was 
> a woman in the US who had a minature horse as a guide. just wondering 
> what u all think of the idea? do u think it will catch on? personally 
> i'd prefer a dog though :) Sent from my iPhone 
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