[NAGDU] found a guide horse trainer

carcione at access.net carcione at access.net
Fri May 24 20:47:20 UTC 2024 

Great, Josh!  I hope all your guide horse dreams come true, and it's all you think it will be. 
Tracy


-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Josh Kennedy via NAGDU
Sent: Friday, May 24, 2024 3:03 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Josh Kennedy <joshknnd1982 at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] found a guide horse trainer

Looks like all my work paid off. I found a very enthusiastic guide horse trainer!!
Holly Fisher:
"Hello Josh,
I appreciate you reaching out to me, expressing your interest in miniature guide horses.
I've had a life long infatuation with all animals, especially horses. I started taking riding lessons at the age of 7. The more I learned about horses, the more I wanted to be with them. In my teenage years I trained my young horse & started competing in horse shows. Then I began training horses locally. In 2006 I graduated from horseshoeing school & currently I am still working as a Farrier. I love my job. I still feel like I need to be more involved. But in what ways?  I have a deep desire to share my love of horses with like minded individuals.
Around 2018 I stumbled upon the Guide Horse Foundation's website. I was blown away at the idea of using mini horses as guides.  I instantly knew I wanted to follow the guide horse foundations lead and I would train guide horses too.
I researched different types of miniature horses. It didn't take long to realize bet best choice is Falabella horses. They originated in Argentina.
Falabellas are perfect in every way for guide work. I started looking online in hope of purchasing a few of these Falabella's to begin clicker training for service work. I was shocked to find that the price range to buy a 1 year old, untrained Falabella is between $5,000-$12,000. Yikes! I was a bit discouraged about buying these mini horses, but I continued practicing clicker training with my full sized horses.
Fast forward a few years, in March 2024 I was checking out the new foals for sale on a website named 'Toyland's Falabella International'. Since 2018, I have visited this website many times. During this visit I decided to sign the websites guestbook. I wrote a few sentences expressing my wishes to buy a few Falabella horses & clicker train them for guide work.
This is the only time I wrote about my dream online, outside of my small circle of friends.
So imagine my astonishment & excitement when you reached out to me about a guide horse.  The more I thought about it, the more I felt like this is a sign, from a higher power, encouraging me to get the ball rolling  pursuing my dream to train miniature guide horses.
I thought it was a long shot... but I emailed the women who owns Toylands Falabella horses. She is one of the largest breeders in the United States & just happens to live in the same state as me, Illinois. It's only a 3.5 hour drive away. In my email I explained my dream & described my qualifications. She sent me back an enthusiastic email. Long story short, she wants me to come to her place & meet me. She wants to discuss ideas & start training her Falabellas for service work. I'm going to visit her in about 1 week. I'll let you know exactly what day I go visit & how our meeting goes.
Thank you so much for contacting me. Without your thoughtful action, none of this would be happening right now. I think you should be the 1st person to receive our 1st trained guide horse."
Alexandra Kurland:
"Hi Josh,
This could be an exciting partnership.  You may yet get your dream guide horse.
Panda’s mother was a Falabella.  I suspect she got her small size from her mother.
Good luck with this.
Alexandra"
Holly Fisher:
"Yes, consistency is key, especially when working with horses. I believe consistency is the closest thing horses have understanding of that can be related to honesty. Horses don't, and can't lie, but if a human or a horse in their herd is inconsistent it means they can't be relied on to make decisions for them.
I sent an email to Alexandra Kurlin recently. I'm excited to hear what she has to say or any pointers she may give as we continue on our guide horse
journey.   I'm curious with the size perimeters should be considering when
choosing a suitable training horse prospect.
I have a client that has some very nice miniature horses. I inquired about ones offered for sale. She has 1 that might be suitable  for guide work.
She stands 32" in height, weighs about 125 pounds. She is 2 years old & loves people. And to describe her looks... she is almost too cute. Her coat is a reddish brown with a blonde main & tail. My client is supposed to get back with me tonight with a price. This 2 year old should be more affordable than a purebred Falabella miniature.
I'm still trying to coordinate a date to go visit the Falabella farm. We have been chatting & will have sometime set in stone soon."
Holly Fisher:
"I think you are on the right track.  I'm excited to be moving forward with training a guide horse for you. After we find a horse & training progresses, would you be able to come to Illinois periodically and do some hands on work to get acquainted with your guide in training?"

On Fri, May 24, 2024 at 2:4 PM Debbie Malone via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
wrote:

> Just an FYI. The service dog denials are getting worse. I had the same 
> scenario happen just a week later.  I was also denied directly when I 
> wanted to go with my significant other to his appointment. They said I 
> couldn't go because I had a service dog. It is really bad when the 
> transit authority is perpetuating the problem and actually denying 
> access because of the service dog. Just saying...
>
> *Sent with Right Inbox 
> <https://www.rightinbox.com/?utm_source=signature>*
>
>
> <
> https://inboxwhenready.org/?utm_campaign=signature&utm_medium=email&ut
> m_source=signature
> >
> I'm using Inbox When Ready
> <
> https://inboxwhenready.org/?utm_campaign=signature&utm_medium=email&ut
> m_source=signature
> >
> to protect my focus.
>
> On Sun, May 5, 2024 at 8:50 AM Diane Graves via NAGDU 
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> wrote:
>
> > I hear you Debbie. It is an outrage to have to decide whether to 
> > take a dog to your time sensitive appointment or leave them home, 
> > because you don't know what the rideshare drivers are going to try 
> > to pull. It is
> even
> > worse, to make this ongoing problem a consideration when deciding 
> > whether to train with a successor dog or not.
> >
> > Although the rideshare companies would claim otherwise, I simply 
> > don't believe that they have a strong zero tolerance policy for 
> > violations of
> the
> > law when it comes to guide dogs/service animals. They would say that 
> > they are doing all they can, but I do not believe it.
> >
> > For example, I was recently enrolled at a university which had a 
> > very strict progressive policy against cheating and plagiarism. If 
> > you were caught once, you would receive an F on the assignment; 
> > twice, you failed the entire course; three times and you were 
> > expelled from the
> university. I
> > don't think the rideshare companies have such a policy in place.
> >
> > When attempting to make travel arrangements with a family member or 
> > friend, I try to be considerate. If they don't want a dog in their
> vehicle,
> > I can either honor that or choose not to ride with them. However, 
> > When a driver makes the decision to provide a public service and 
> > drive their personal vehicle for a rideshare company, they forfeit 
> > their right to
> make
> > the call, and they should be required to comply with the law. We
> shouldn't
> > be forced to deal with this.
> >
> >
> > Robin (Diane) Graves
> > rdgraves2007 at gmail.com
> > 317-238-9262
> >
> > “TGIF: TODAY GOD IS FIRST.’—OS Hillman
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Debbie Malone 
> > via NAGDU
> > Sent: Sunday, May 5, 2024 7:31 AM
> > To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users 
> > < nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> > Cc: Debbie Malone <dmalone510 at gmail.com>
> > Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Rideshare denials
> >
> > I do the same thing. I report to Uber, NFB, and our RTA (MBTA/the 
> > RIDE)since many of my rides are contracted through them. I am going 
> > out
> to
> > the DOJ complaints in the next day or so. Any advice?
> >
> > I am so outraged that even those contracted rides are denied. The 
> > other day the paratransit service didn't have enough vans to take me 
> > on my scheduled trip. The tried to get me an Uber but were refused 
> > by every driver. They were telling the drivers that I had a service 
> > dog and
> allowed
> > each driver to deny the ride. They had to delay a regular van 
> > driver's lunch to take me to my appointment. I am so outraged that I 
> > am looking
> into
> > a protest at the state house and/or media coverage. I am too through.
> >
> > *Sent with Right Inbox 
> ><https://www.rightinbox.com/?utm_source=signature
> >*
> >
> >
> > On Sat, May 4, 2024 at 4:1 PM Suzette May via NAGDU 
> > <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > What Lyft told me is that if you message the driver that you have 
> > > a guide dog or the driver is close enough to see that you have a 
> > > guide dog and the ride is canceled at any point after that, it is 
> > > considered a service dog denial. So I report those.  I also 
> > > screenshot my text message when it says the driver has seen the 
> > > message, along with the driver information screen as soon as 
> > > possible. I also report it on the NFB form and the DOJ form every 
> > > time.  If I can, I start videoing when
> > the driver is one minute away.
> > > I'm averaging about 1 in 3 guide dog denials.  I've had several 
> > > that were blatant, to my face denials. That was before I started videoing.
> > >
> > > *Suzette May*
> > > *PS139.13 at gmail.com <PS139.13 at gmail.com>*
> > > *512-564-0152*
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > On Thu, May 2, 2024 at 12:34 PM Raul Gallegos - NAGDU via NAGDU < 
> > > nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> > >
> > > > Hello Vanessa. While there is no direct evidence that you have 
> > > > been denied, I personally would still report it as such, 
> > > > especially if you
> > > have
> > > > voluntarily sent the driver a text that identifies you as a 
> > > > blind person traveling with a guide dog.
> > > > I hope this helps.
> > > >
> > > > --
> > > > Raul Gallegos, President
> > > > National Association of Guide Dog Users
> > > > (346) 439-7444 • rgallegos at nagdu.org www.nfb.org • www.nagdu.org 
> > > > Subscribe to the NAGDU public calendar Facebook Group • Email 
> > > > list • Mastodon “You can live the life you want. Blindness is 
> > > > not what holds you back.”
> > > >
> > > > -----Original Message-----
> > > > From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Vanessa 
> > > > Lowery via NAGDU
> > > > Sent: Thursday, May 2, 2024 12:22 PM
> > > > To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog 
> > > > Users < nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> > > > Cc: Vanessa Lowery <val4dogs at gmail.com>
> > > > Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Rideshare denials
> > > >
> > > > I have a question. To give an example, let's say that I have 
> > > > selected
> > > Uber
> > > > and have messaged the driver stating that I will be traveling 
> > > > with a service dog and will be placing a towel on the floor of 
> > > > the vehicle
> > > before
> > > > the dog enters. You continue to wait as the countdown for the 
> > > > drivers arrival continues. The driver gets two or three minutes 
> > > > out, and then the next thing you know, You've been switched to 
> > > > another ride. But before
> > > that
> > > > happens, you've gotten a text response back from the driver that 
> > > > just
> > > says,
> > > > "OK.". You assume that the OK means that the driver has no 
> > > > issues with
> > > the
> > > > presence of the service dog. But then, you are suddenly switched 
> > > > to
> > > another
> > > > driver. Is that considered a denial? And if not, at a minimum, 
> > > > should we
> > > go
> > > > to the tracking link that the NFB has and report that. And if 
> > > > so, what is it categorized to be? I have had that happen a few 
> > > > times
> > lately.
> > > > Vanessa and the zoo
> > > > Sent from my iPhone
> > > >
> > > > > On May 2, 2024, at 7:2 AM, Debbie Malone via NAGDU 
> > > > > <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> > > > wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > Hi all,
> > > > > Is NFB still collecting data regarding Uber andLyft service 
> > > > > animal
> > > > denials?
> > > > > If so where do we report the incidents? Thanks.
> > > > >
> > > > > --
> > > > > *Debbie Malone*
> > > > >
> > > > > *National Federation of the Blind of Massachusetts*
> > > > >
> > > > > *Affiliate Second Vice President*
> > > > >
> > > > > *At-Large Chapter President*
> > > > >
> > > > > *National Federation of the Blind, National Writers Division 
> > > > > Vice
> > > > > President* *InclusionEducation.com
> > > > > <https://inclusioneducation.com/>*
> > > > > Amazon Author Page <https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B07RVCRR5R>
> > > > >
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> >
> > --
> > *Debbie Malone*
> >
> > *National Federation of the Blind of Massachusetts*
> >
> > *Affiliate Second Vice President*
> >
> > *At-Large Chapter President*
> >
> > *National Federation of the Blind, National Writers Division Vice
> > President* *InclusionEducation.com 
> > <https://inclusioneducation.com/>*
> > Amazon Author Page <https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B07RVCRR5R>
> > _______________________________________________
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> >
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>
>
> --
> *Debbie Malone*
>
> *National Federation of the Blind of Massachusetts*
>
> *Affiliate Second Vice President*
>
> *At-Large Chapter President*
>
> *National Federation of the Blind, National Writers Division Vice
> President*
> *InclusionEducation.com <https://inclusioneducation.com/>*
> Amazon Author Page <https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B07RVCRR5R>
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