[nfb-talk] Miniature guide horse opens door for blind student

Steven Johnson blinddog3 at charter.net
Mon Dec 20 11:28:50 UTC 2010


The only difficulty I see is the recent changes in the ADA that specifically
consider dogs as service animals under the new definition with the exception
of miniature horses which one may need to request a modification of policy
and practice in order to access a place of public accommodation.  Marion who
is the NAGDU President is also on this list, and he is a great source for
more information on this as the new law will go into effect this next March
15.  There are also other NAGDU members on this list who would be good
sources to share their thoughts as well.  NAGDU fought to include miniature
horses to be considered under the new definition, but did not expect the
level of limitations placed.

Steve


Steve


-----Original Message-----
From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of ckrugman at sbcglobal.net
Sent: Monday, December 20, 2010 1:32 AM
To: NFB Talk
Subject: [nfb-talk] Miniature guide horse opens door for blind student



Does anyone have any comments on the use of guide horses as discussed in
this article?
Chuck

Miniature guide horse opens doors for blind student Tiny companion helps
Muslim woman live independently, attend university 11/15/2010
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/40195834/

For Mona Ramouni, who's blind, using a guide dog was just not possible. From
an observant Muslim family, Ramouni's parents objected to having a dog in
the house.

For most of her life the 28-year-old got around with the help of her family
and friends. But those days are over, and Ramouni has a new companion to
help navigate her way: Cali the guide horse.
The graduate student bought Cali two years ago, and sent her for training to
learn to become a guide horse. She paid for the horse, its care and training
from her savings work as an editor of Braille books.

Pampered pooches

The Fetch Club boasts a canine restaurant, movie theater, spa, wet bar,
photo studio and even a doggie disco.

Guide horse opens doors for blind student

"My whole world and my whole outlook on stuff has changed, because I feel
that there are a lot more possibilities," Ramouni told the news service AFP
in July 2009, six weeks after Cali arrived. "Before Cali, I didn't feel like
I could go places on my own, although theoretically I probably could have."

Guide dogs are believed to have been leading the way for blind people for
centuries, while guide horses are a more recent phenomenon. The Guide Horse
Foundation has been training miniature horses as companions for the blind
for nearly 11 years. There has been such demand for guide horses that the
organization, which is run solely by volunteers, has had to suspend the
application process.

Mira Oberman / AFP - Getty Images

Graduate student Mona Ramouni, left, and her guide horse Cali wait for class
to start with classmate Cheryl Wade and her guide dog.
It takes about a year to train a guide horse, and the animals have a longer
lifespan than guide dogs. Miniature horses can live to be more than 50 years
old and weigh around 100 pounds.

"Taking on a horse as a guide is a huge commitment, same as a dog but with
more physical needs," said Dolores Arste, Cali's trainer, to the Associated
Press last year. "It is not a novelty. It is a real working animal."

Taking care of Cali is definitely different than caring for a guide dog. The
diet of a guide horse consists mostly of grass or hay and oats, according to
the Guide Horse Foundation, and the animals can graze on the lawn of
someone's house.

Since Ramouni and Cali have joined forces, she has been able to move from
her native Dearborn, Mich. to Lansing, where she is working toward a
master's degree at Michigan State University.

Cali and Ramouni attend classes together, where they are sometimes joined by
the guide dog of another student.

"We've had some adventures," Ramouni told the AFP. "If she thinks she can do
it, she will. If she thinks she can't or doesn't want to, I swear she's half
mule because she'll just stand there."

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