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

[David Evans]

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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