A guide horse is an alternative mobility option for blind people who do not wish to or cannot use a guide dog. [1]
A guide horse is an alternative mobility option for blind people who do not wish to or cannot use a guide dog. [1]
The idea of a guide horse for a blind person dates back to 1943 if not earlier, the film The Blocked Trail of that year having a dwarf horse guide a blind miner. [2] The Burlesons though may appear to have a claim for the practical proposal of using a miniature horse as a service animal for the blind or partially sighted. In 1998, while on a horseback ride in New York City, Janet and Don Burleson of Kittrell, North Carolina, noticed how their horses were able to sense on their own when to cross the street. Janet recalled watching a blind rider compete in horse shows where "the woman gave the horse directions, and it took her around the obstacles and the other horses in the class. It was serving as her guide and that was something I'd never forgotten." [3] She wondered if a miniature horse could be trained as a guide animal for the blind. Janet had trained Arabian show horses for 30 years and was familiar with equine behavior. But her urban experience changed her view of the behavior exhibited by one of their pet miniature horses, "Twinkie", on their farm back home. The animal often followed the Burlesons around like a dog, and rode in the back of their minivan. From these experiences, they began training miniature horses to be seeing eye horses. [3]
Their first trainee was Twinkie. From that start, the Burlesons developed a rigorous training program for miniature horses that was similar to a guide dog's, adding systematic desensitization training, similar to that given horses used for riot control. There were setbacks; the first time they took a miniature horse to the grocery store, it grabbed a Snickers bar off the shelf. The goal was to train these small horses to meet all requirements to become a guide animal for the blind. [3]
One of the first people to use a guide horse was Dan Shaw. [4] At age 17, he was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, an incurable eye disease that deteriorates vision over time. In 1998 he attended a school for the blind to learn basic skills, such as how to read Braille. However, he stated, "... I was shocked at how few options I had. I didn't want to struggle with a white cane, and I couldn't bear the idea of having a guide dog because of the grief I had experienced when my beloved pet dog died 10 years before. I knew I'd feel the loss of an animal I had relied on for my independence even more acutely." [4]
In 1999 the Burlesons created The Guide Horse Foundation [lower-alpha 1] to provide miniature horses as assistance animals to blind users living in rural environments.
Shaw heard about the Burlesons' experimental program, and was particularly interested when he found out that horses live thirty to forty years. So he applied to be the first person in the world to use a guide horse. The Burlesons started training "Cuddles" for Shaw. On March 6, 2002, he flew to Raleigh, North Carolina, and met Cuddles for the first time. After some introductory work, Janet Burleson sent Shaw and Cuddles into a crowded store where the aisles were jammed with merchandise, and they successfully navigated the store. Shaw stated, "I was about to become the world's first user of a guide horse. I knew that there would be skeptics—people who didn't believe horses had the right temperament to be service animals. After all, in the 1920s, when Dorothy Eustis began training German Shepherds to lead the blind, many people scoffed at the idea. But I knew that getting my independence back would outweigh any criticism." [4]
Another user received her horse "Panda" in 2003, and in 2007 the Associated Press reported the owner describing her guide as "protective, alert and house-trained -- and she loves to play fetch. And at 29 inches tall and 120 pounds, she's a darn small horse." [6]
A guide horse, "Digby", claimed to be Britain's first, was introduced to a BBC journalist for training in February 2018. Unfortunately the miniature horse underwent a height growth spurt to 33 inches (0.84 m) which proved too tall for its handler's office in Salford, Manchester. It had also become "awkward", knocking items off of supermarket shelves. The horse was able to be allocated to an Office of National Statistics worker in London who believed it would not be too tall for her and would be suitable for her to take on the Underground to work. [7]
In the United States, on 15 September 2010, the Department of Justice (DOJ) clarified the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and ruled that properly trained and suitably sized miniature Guide Horses could be recognized as service animals. [8]
Miniature horses, with an average lifespan of thirty years, live much longer than dogs, and for those allergic to or frightened of dogs, a horse could make a good alternative. However, while a dog can adapt to many different home situations, a horse must live outdoors, requiring a shelter and room to move about when not on duty. [9]
Guide horse users may also find difficulty in transporting a miniature horse on limited-spaced public transportation, such as on buses or taxis. Some individuals also are concerned that a horse's powerful fight-or-flight instinct may lead it to have less predictable behavior than that of a guide dog.
The Guide Horse Foundation suggest a house-trained guide horse should typically be able to control its bladder for six hours; however for transportation purposes it is suggested a practical estimate of four hours should be used. [10]
The process of training a guide horse is rigorous and takes about eight months for each horse. [3] The Burlesons developed a training programme which began initially with the horse trained in basic lead work, in which the horse is taught to move at the speed that the handler commands and to navigate common obstacles. Next, the horse is trained in voice command recognition, and taught to respond to 23 voice commands. The horse is then taught to maneuver around both stationary and moving obstacles. After this, the horse is trained to signal to the handler when there is a step or ramp. Finally, the horse is housebroken, generally an easy process because of horses' natural aversion to depositing fecal waste indoors. Intelligent disobedience is a crucial part of the training of the guide horse, as the horse must be able to disregard any commands that would be unsafe to the horse and the handler. [11]
Guide dogs are assistance dogs trained to lead blind or visually impaired people around obstacles. Although dogs can be trained to navigate various obstacles, they are red–green colour blind and incapable of interpreting street signs. The human does the directing, based on skills acquired through previous mobility training. The handler might be likened to an aircraft's navigator, who must know how to get from one place to another, and the dog is the pilot, who gets them there safely. In several countries guide dogs, along with most other service and hearing dogs, are exempt from regulations against the presence of animals in places such as restaurants and public transportation.
The Border Collie is a breed of herding dog of medium size. Widely considered to be the most intelligent dog breed, they are descended from landrace sheepdogs once found all over the British Isles, but became standardised in the Anglo-Scottish border region. They are now mostly used as working dogs to herd livestock, specifically sheep.
In general, an assistance dog, known as a service dog in the United States, is a dog trained to aid or assist an individual with a disability. Many are trained by an assistance dog organization, or by their handler, often with the help of a professional trainer.
A hearing dog is a type of assistance dog specifically selected and trained to assist people who are deaf or hard of hearing by alerting their handler to important sounds, such as doorbells, smoke alarms, ringing telephones, or alarm clocks. They may also work outside the home, alerting their handler to sounds such as sirens, forklifts, and a person calling the handler's name.
A herding dog, also known as a stock dog, shepherd dog, sheep dog or working dog, is a type of dog that either has been trained in herding or belongs to breeds that are developed for herding.
The Australian Shepherd is a breed of herding dog from the United States. The name of the breed is technically a misnomer, as it was developed in California in the 19th century, although it has its origins in Asturias, in the northwest of Spain; the breed was unknown in Australia at the time. It is claimed that Australian Shepherds descend from a variety of herding breeds, including collies imported, alongside sheep, from Australia and New Zealand; the breed reportedly took its name from this trade. Originally used solely as a herding dog, the Australian Shepherd has become one of the most popular companion dog breeds in North America.
The Rough Collie is a long-coated dog breed of medium to large size that, in its original form, was a type of collie used and bred for herding sheep in Scotland. More recent breeding has focused on the Collie as a show dog, and also companion. The breed specifications call for a distinctive long narrow tapered snout and tipped (semiprick) ears, so some dogs have their ears taped when young. Rough Collies generally come in shades of sable and white, blue merle, tri-colored, and colour-headed white.
A miniature horse is a breed or type of horse characterised by its small size. Usually it has been bred to display in miniature the physical characteristics of a full-sized horse, but to be little over 100 cm (40 in) in height, or even less. Although such horses have the appearance of small horses, they are genetically much more similar to pony breeds such as the Shetland. They have various colors and coat patterns.
Dorothy Leib Harrison Wood Eustis was an American dog breeder and philanthropist, who founded The Seeing Eye, the first dog guide school for the blind in the United States. She was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2011.
A working animal is an animal, usually domesticated, that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks instead of being slaughtered to harvest animal products. Some are used for their physical strength or for transportation, while others are service animals trained to execute certain specialized tasks. They may also be used for milking or herding. Some, at the end of their working lives, may also be used for meat or other products such as leather.
Animal roleplay is a form of roleplay where at least one participant plays the part of a non-human animal. As with most forms of roleplay, its uses include play and psychodrama.
Dogs in warfare have a very long history starting in ancient times. From being trained in combat, to their use as scouts, sentries, messengers, mercy dogs, and trackers, their uses have been varied and some continue to exist in modern military usage.
Horse behavior is best understood from the view that horses are prey animals with a well-developed fight-or-flight response. Their first reaction to a threat is often to flee, although sometimes they stand their ground and defend themselves or their offspring in cases where flight is untenable, such as when a foal would be threatened.
That's My Baby is an American television program that follows pregnant animals and their owners through the birth process. It was broadcast on Animal Planet between 2001 and 2003.
The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, known colloquially as Guide Dogs, is a British charitable organization founded in 1934. The Association uses guide dogs to help blind and partially blind people. The organization also participates in political activism for the rights of those with vision impairments.
The Seeing Eye, Inc. is a guide dog school located in Morristown, New Jersey, in the United States. Founded in 1929, the Seeing Eye is the oldest guide dog school in the U.S., and one of the largest. The Seeing Eye campus includes administrative offices, dormitory residence for students, a veterinary care center, and kennels; there is also a breeding station in Chester, NJ. The Seeing Eye, a founding member of the U.S. Council of Guide Dog Schools and a fully accredited member of the International Guide Dog Federation, is a lead researcher in canine genetics, breeding, disease control, and behavior.
Black Beauty was formerly listed in the Guinness World Records as the smallest living horse, a record she held from 2001 to 2006 until the record was taken by Thumbelina.
Guiding Eyes for the Blind is one of the eleven schools in the U.S. for training guide dogs—dogs trained to lead the blind and visually impaired. It houses a 10-acre (40,000 m2) headquarters, training center, and veterinary clinic in Yorktown Heights, New York, and it also operates a canine development center in Patterson, New York, and a training site in White Plains, New York.
Various definitions exist for a service animal. The Americans with Disabilities Act defines the term as "dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities". Dogs are the most common service animals, having assisted people since at least 1927.
Salty and Roselle were two guide dogs who were with their owners in the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks in New York City. They each guided their owners out of the burning towers before they collapsed, feats which were later recognized when they were awarded the Dickin Medal by the British charity the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals. Roselle went on to be posthumously named American Hero Dog of the Year 2011 by American Humane, and has a book written about her.
Please note that the Guide Horse Foundation is new, and we consider our program to be experimental. Due to the overwhelming number of requests for free Guide horses we have temporarily suspended the application process.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)