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

[Constance Canode]

I use a cane also.  If I lived in an apartment which I do not, the 
last thing I would want is a horse clopping around above 
me.  Wouldn't that also ruin the floors?  I don't know about guide 
horses, so I also wonder if they can be trained to do their business 
outdoors instead of just letting go the way most horses do.  Oh my, I 
do love my cane.  No maintenance.  I understand the companionship, 
but no thanks.

Connie Canode
At 10:10 AM 12/20/2010, you wrote:
>My white cane serves me quite well.
>
>
>Gloria Whipple
>Corresponding Secretary
>Inland Empire chapter
>nfb of WA
>
>cell number: 509-475-4993
>
>-----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 6:24 AM
>To: NFB Talk Mailing List
>Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Miniature guide horse opens door for blind student
>
>This whole thing seems very quirky to me which is why I posted it.
>Chuck
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Cindy Handel" <cindy425 at verizon.net>
>To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>Sent: Monday, December 20, 2010 6:10 AM
>Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Miniature guide horse opens door for blind student
>
>
> > This article never said the student was trained to use the guide horse. It
> > talked about the year of training the horse received.  But, I wonder how
> > safe this woman is with the horse, if she had no training with it.
> >
> > Cindy
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: <ckrugman at sbcglobal.net>
> > To: "NFB Talk" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
> > Sent: Monday, December 20, 2010 2:31 AM
> > 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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