Hi, Kathy, I am replying to your message on the list, because I do not have your private e-mail address. I hope the list members and administrators will forgive this off topic message. If you or anyone else wishes to continue the conversation about guide horses, please contact me off-list at annedie@xxxxxxxxxxxxx I am one of about half a dozen miniature horse guide handlers that I know of in the USA. There is one non-profit organization, the Guide Horse Foundation, located in North Carolina, which trains and places miniature horse guides with blind people. Don and Janet Burleson are the people who established the GHF. They trained the first mini horse guide team in 2001. That was Dan Shaw of Maine and his guide horse Cuddles. As far as I know, the GHF has one other working team, Donna Grahman of Texas with her guide horse Pal. The website of the GHF is www.guidehorse.org. I know of three other guide horse partnerships, either privately trained or owner trained. My own guide horse, Panda, was privately purchased by me and trained by my friend and horse training professional, Alexandra Kurland. Alex has described Panda's training process in the Panda Reports on her website, www.theclickercenter.com. Panda has been working as my guide for about two years now, since the spring of 2003. The two other mini horse guide teams that I know of are one in Florida and one in Pennsylvania. There is no such thing as certification for guide horses in the USA, just as there is no such thing as certification of guide dogs in this country. People with disabilities who work with privately trained or owner trained guide and service animals have the same access rights as do people who obtain their guide and service animals from a large organization. This being said, it is very important for people interested in training or partnering with a guide horse to get as much information as possible before making their decision. The two websites memtioned above will get you started on that path of obtaining information. The use of miniature horses as guides for blind people is still very new and somewhat experimental. While there are many advantages of using horses as guides, there are also some considerations which must be weighed. I have been delighted with Panda's guide work, and she is a wonderful companion as well. And, since horses can live and work for more than 25 years, I have many more happy years of this great relationship to look forward to. The other guide horse handlers with whom I have spoken have had similarly good experiences. But miniature horses are a little bigger than most guide dogs, and it is definitely harder to fit them into a crowded restaurant or into an airplane cabin. Horses have a different digestive system from dogs, and although they can be just as effectively house trained, they do need to eat a bit more often than dogs, and they need to be taken out for relief breaks more often than dogs. Horses more than make up for these disadvantages by their excellent trainability and focus on their work. They are less distractable than dogs, they don't chase cats, squirrels, birds, or dogs, and they are instinctively excellent at travelling through crowds and among other moving beings. Horses are naturally aware of and careful about the footing conditions and changes of elevation, such as steps, curbs, drop-offs, and holes. Due to their wide field of vision and their keen hearing, they are very aware of traffic moving up from behind and to the sides. And horses truly seem to enjoy the work and the partnership with their people. Of course, I would argue that my Panda is the absolute best of all the miniature horse guides, because besides all the great features of guide horses in general, Panda is the only entirely Clicker Trained guide horse. Clicker Training is a training method based on behavioral science, which uses a marker signal to tell the animal when it has done something the trainer wants, and uses only positive reinforcement, (treats, pats, praise), and no punishment or "corrections", in the training process. Because of this training method, Panda is relaxed and confident in her work. She works to earn rewards and because she truly understands what is desired, rather than to avoid punishment. She works without the stress which causes working problems and behavior problems and the early retirement of so many guide dogs trained with traditional, "correction-based" training methods. Anyway, feel free to pass this information on to the person who made the inquiry. Also feel free to write to me at annedie@xxxxxxxxxxxx if you have any further questions. We also have an e-mail list, (usually very quiet), for guide horse users and anyone interested in the use of miniature horse guides. To subscribe, send a blank message to Guide-Horse-Users-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx That would be a good place to ask questions of the community of guide horse users. Ann ----- Original Message ----- From: Taylor-Hallick, Kathy (NonCityStaff) To: duxuser@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Tuesday, May 03, 2005 10:52 AM Subject: [duxuser] Miniature Guide Horses May 3, 2005 Hello I am a Duxbury Braille Printer user. This email has nothing to do with my printer. However, I am wondering if someone out there can help me. I have received an email from a gentleman up here in Winnipeg, Manitoba inquiring about the certification of miniature guide horses. I know I saw something on TV a long time ago about this. Can anyone help with this request? I am also curious as where I might find more information. Thanks very much. Kathy Taylor-Hallick, Coordinator Access Advisory Committee City of Winnipeg Council Building - Lower Level 510 Main Street Winnipeg Manitoba MB R3B 1B9