[nagdu] minature horses as guides

Lisa dreamymarmot93 at yahoo.de
Wed Jun 24 10:37:43 UTC 2015


Hi Ann!

wow, that's so interesting to have you on the list! :-) I was the one who 
posted the old NAGDU article and I hope you don't take it personally. I 
didn't know it was old and I really didn't mean to spread negativity about 
mini horses as guides. It's a fascinating topic and it's very interesting to 
get info about that from you as being a horse owner!

best wishes from Germany
Lisa
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ann Edie via nagdu" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: "Ann Edie" <annedie at nycap.rr.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2015 7:38 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] minature horses as guides


> 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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