[nagdu] minature horses as guides

[S L Johnson]

Hello:

Oh, not this topic again.  There was a lot of talk about  mini horses as 
guides several years ago.  To me, it is stupid.  Horses are farm animals and 
not suited to being indoors.  I heard that they get very lonely so it is a 
good idea to have a second horse as a companion.  Their relieving habits 
present a serious problem.  Also food is a big issue.  You can not build a 
stable in your apartment complex or in your back yard.  I think I remember 
reading somewhere that the Department of Justice recently changed the 
description of service animal to be only dogs.  I was at an ACB  convention 
in 2004 where someone had a guide horse.  many members of the hotel staff 
complained that the horse was a problem in the restaurants because it was 
standing behind the table instead of lying quietly under chairs or tables 
out of the way like our dogs.  One afternoon I was leaving a meeting, The 
lady with the horse was in the path to the exit.  My little golden kept 
trying to guide me around the horse to reach the exit.  Suddenly my dog 
jumped back with an obvious cry of pain.  The stupid horse had kicked at me 
and my dog.  Both of us sustained severe bruises that required medical 
attention.  A  sighted man who was with this woman then shouted out to the 
crowd trying to get out the door, to be careful because the horse would kick 
if you were too close to her.  This created a serious safety risk for all 
the blind people who were not expecting to encounter a kicking horse in a 
hotel.  Convention crowds are difficult enough with canes hitting our poor 
dogs without adding to that with the presence of a dangerous horse.  I 
attempted to have the guide horse removed from the convention since it was 
clearly a danger to blind people and guide dogs.  The mini horses might be 
fine in open country settings but do not belong in public places.  They are 
not safe.  I am glad they haven't caught on because it is a very stupid 
idea.  Keep farm animals in the barnyard, not where my guide dog and I have 
to work.



-----Original Message----- 
From: Pam via nagdu
Sent: Sunday, June 21, 2015 3:22 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Pam
Subject: Re: [nagdu] minature horses as guides

that's really interesting. thanks for sharing. i'm not sure of the lady's 
name that was on the program but her horse was called callie which is the 
same name as my guide dog. it was amazing though.

Sent from my iPhone

> On 21 Jun 2015, at 20:13, Ann Edie via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
> Hi, Pam,
>
> I don't know which miniature horse guide and partner was shown in the
> program you saw, but I have worked with a mini horse guide for the past 11
> years. I know of 3 or 4 other people who are long-term guide horse 
> partners.
> Like everything else, there are advantages and disadvantages of using a
> miniature horse as a guide as compared with using a dog guide or a white
> cane. The major advantage of using a miniature horse guide is that the
> lifespan of a miniature horse averages at least twice the lifespan of a 
> dog.
> Miniature horses live easily into their thirties and can work well into
> their twenties. The major disadvantages of the mini horse guide as 
> compared
> with dogs is that they take up a little more space and that they need to 
> be
> relieved more often than do dogs. I had 3 dog guides before I got my
> miniature horse guide, and in my experience, my miniature horse performs
> better and more consistently in her work than did any of my dog guides, 
> even
> my very excellent first guide. My mini, Panda, started working when she 
> was
> 2 years old. She is now 14, and she just keeps getting better and better,
> more confident and intuitive. As you might imagine, we communicate by tiny
> movements and shifts and she seems to read my intentions even before I can
> consciously give her a cue. And I can look forward to many more years of
> joyous travels with her. We have had almost no difficulty with access to
> public places or transportation.
>
> I don't think many people will be switching from guide dogs to miniature
> horse guides in the near future because more people are familiar with dogs
> than with horses and because there is (as far as I know) no active guide
> horse training program in operation at this time. All the miniature horse
> guide teams I am familiar with except the first have been owner-trained or
> privately trained.
>
> There's lots of information on the web about miniature horse guides and
> miniature horses used as service animals for people with other 
> disabilities.
> Information about my partner Panda can be found on the website of her
> trainer which is: www.theclickercenter.com
>
> Best,
> Ann
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Pam via nagdu
> Sent: Sunday, June 21, 2015 2:04 PM
> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
> Cc: Pam
> Subject: [nagdu] minature horses as guides
>
>
>
> i was watching a program about ghide dogs the other day and there was a
> woman in the US who had a minature horse as a guide. just wondering what u
> all think of the idea? do u think it will catch on? personally i'd prefer 
> a
> dog though :) Sent from my iPhone
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