[NFBP-Talk] guide horse trainer found!

[Josh Kennedy]

I  have an announcement to make... After several months of searching and
searching I finally found someone  who has always been interested in
training guide horses for people who are blind. Her name is Holly Fisher of
Fisher's Farrier Service, She is from Illinois, and she has always wanted
to train guide horses for people who are blind. I also have recorded a
podcast interview with ann Edie all about what it is like to work with a
small, 100 pound mini housebroken falabella or similarly housebroken mini
horse as a guide horse.  the interview starts around 13 minutes into the
podcast.

https://soundcloud.com/josh-kennedy-997023397/guidehorseenhanced?si=604213ffa71146cc8ef46c2b68a8821e&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

also, here is part of me and Holly Fisher's conversation along with her
email. We have already set up the new equineEye guide horse training
organization.

from:
Holly Fisher chromedcamo at gmail.com

I will spell that out in case it does not go through.

her email is: chromedcamo (at sign) gmail dot com

Holly Fisher wrote:
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.

-Holly Fisher-
I understand your reasoning about the proper order of things in regards to
the organization.
My thoughts are to create the organization now, so we can get donations
from businesses & Grant's. Then use those funds to pay for your mini horse.
If we form the organization later, then all expenses will need to be paid
by you & I. Even if we found a size appropriate mini horse, it's still
going to cost around $1,000 to purchase the horse.  I would be willing to
train your mini & provide all of his regular care (food, bedding, hoof
trimming & veterinary) for free. However, it would be a tremendous
financial relief if the money our organization generated could pay for the
purchase of a quality Falabella,  pay me for the hundreds of training hours
the mini will require, the traveling expenses for the horse to train in
public places, your travel expenses to come here periodically especially
the week you get to take your mini home. The organization should be able to
cover any extra costs needed to help you set up a shelter & a secure fence
for your new partner to live with you.

 I think that once training for your mini begins, the word will spread
quickly & will generate a demand from people wanting their own guide
horses. Those are just my thoughts & concerns. I asked the owne of Toylands
Falabella's to be a board member in our organization. Hopefully she'll say
yes. I have a good friend named Stephanie that agreed to be a board member.
She is an author, has a master's degree in psychology & works at a college
specializing in special need students.

On Tue, May 28, 2024, 9:11 AM Josh Kennedy <joshknnd1982 at gmail.com> wrote:
an organization and a go-fund-me campaign are good ideas. But I also think
its important not to "get ahead of yourself" so-to-speak. By that, I mean,
before an organization should exist, first demand has to be created for
that organization. In other words, the concept and advantages of guide
horses has to be revived first.
So first: one, or maybe a few should be trained and successfully used.
Second: once I have mine, demand for more has to be created. This will
probably involve going to major blindness conventions and demonstrating how
guide horses work, why have a guide horse vs a guide dog, getting more
people interested. And so as demand grows, then you make the organization.
I'm taking my best guess as to how this most likely works because I'm
really not a businessperson or marketing manager. But I'm guessing that's
probably how it would work best.

Josh
I was also thinking... after we successfully train several guide horses &
show the community the benefits, mini guide horses will be in demand. It
would be twice as nice if we could form a program with our local women's
prison & teach them how to train the mini's. This would create a larger #
of trained horses ready to be matched with a blind handler.  For the
inmates it would be an enriching experience of a lifetime. It doesn't seem
that far fetched knowing this scenario is a reality with guide dog
training.

Holly wrote:
You definitely have a deep & instant connection with horses. So many life
long equestrians will never know the feeling of having a shared connection
with a horse, or the feeling of their horse loving them. So many horses
just tolerate their owner, never really liking them.

Mares & geldings can both be trained for service work absolutely. I think
with Mona the draw to a mare is their ability to reproduce. It's really
genius as far as training the next generation. The potential is high for
the baby to be even easier to train for guide work because of early
exposure & watching his mom work. They call it "Mirroring."

I had a trimming appointment yesterday evening. My client has a baby mini
donkey she wants to sell when he gets weaned in a few weeks. I'm thinking
about buying him & see if he enjoys being a guide. If it works out he would
be the worlds 1st mini guide donkey, as far as I know.
I figured it wouldn't hurt to have a few mini horses or mini donkey in the
training program that way you can be matched with the best one for you.

I'm waiting for a reply back from Laureen, owner of Toylands Falabellas.
She's considering retiring a few of her breeding mares & if she does, she
says she would donate them to our organization. That way they can still
have a job they can perform skillfully for many years & be pampered in a
loving home.

I think I mentioned to you that Laureen has a Falabella baby named Einstein
for sale, but his sale is pending. If the opportunity arises, I'll try to
work it out so I can  pick Einstein up too.

Listen to this, I'm totally thrilled... We have a new member joining our
team. Her name is Kristi Patrice Carter. She has a background in Illinois
Law & has experience with starting non profits. She reached out to me
because of something you posted on an online forum somewhere. Kristi
happens to currently own a 1 year old Falabella named Pokey. She bought him
last year from Laureen. Small world, LoL.

Also, Shelia Wheeler reached out to me, volunteering her services, after
reading something you posted online.  Before Shelia lost 85% of her eye
sight she was a certified radio marketing specialist. Sheila has 3 mini's
at her home  & plans to train 2 of them to help her with her mobility. I
told her that she can call me anytime she wants to discuss the training
process. I'm happy to help.

Keep up the fantastic work Josh. You are really a powerful asset for our
organization. You work around the clock shining  light, advocating for the
mini guide horses to be recognized & respected. You have a gift embedded
within the way you write... you are authentic in a way that speaks to the
reader on a subconscious level creating a magnetism that inspires them to
get involved too. One by one they are introducing themselves & offering
their support.

Thank you!
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