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

Mon Dec 20 19:10:10 UTC 2010

Actually the religion does not totally exclude the use of dogs when they
assist the "sick" which like it or not includes blind people.  The
prohibition is against touching animals which no cab driver need do
concerning a guide dog.

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-----Original Message-----
From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of David Evans
Sent: Monday, December 20, 2010 10:59 AM
To: NFB Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Miniature guide horse opens door for blind student

Dear Ray,

The reason that this guide horse helps this girl is because of her religion.

She is a Muslim and they have a prohibition against gods.  That is why 
Muslim cab drivers don't want to carry guide dog users in their cabs. 
Horses, small ones or not , are okay.

David Evans, NFBF and GD Jack.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ray Foret Jr" <rforetjr at att.net>
To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, December 20, 2010 2:37 AM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Miniature guide horse opens door for blind student

> Gee, I reckon a guide dog would have been a better choice.  OF course, 
> I've seen this business about guide horses back in some past issue of "the

> Braille Monitor".  But, honestly, not sure about it.
>
>
> Sincerely,
> The Constantly Barefooted Ray!!!
>
> Now A Very Proud and very happy Mac user!!!
>
> Skype Name:
> barefootedray
>
> On Dec 20, 2010, at 1:31 AM, <ckrugman at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> 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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