[nagdu] minature horses as guides

Wed Jun 24 16:12:07 UTC 2015

Hi, Sheila,

Panda is 29 inches tall at the withers (shoulders) and weighs 125 pounds, so
she is bigger than most guide dogs, but not as big as some large breed dogs,
such as great Danes and mastiffs, which are allowable as service dogs. (A
friend of mine has mastiffs that weigh over 150 pounds, and they're not even
overweight. I also know of Great Danes that are 36 inches tall--for
comparison.) My brother has a German shepherd guide dog which is 27 inches
tall, and I have heard of a few guide dogs that weighed 110 pounds, so Panda
isn't that much larger than those dogs. Horses do not curl up as readily as
do dogs, though, so they do take up more floor space.

I won't be coming to convention this year, although I'd love to. I'll be
teaching blind kids summer session at that time.

Best,
Ann

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Sheila Leigland
via nagdu
Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2015 1:44 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Sheila Leigland
Subject: Re: [nagdu] minature horses as guides

I'm curious how much does panda weigh and in comparison how tall is she to
say a golden or lab dog? Are you coming to the nfb convention? It would be
fun to meet you.

On 6/23/2015 11:38 AM, Ann Edie via nagdu wrote:
> 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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