Time for you to meet Scout. This is Scout with his partner at the Cincinnati airport. Yes they did get on the plane together and oh what a rather unusual sight for many people at the terminal that day! What do you think of Scout's horse shoes? More like little Nikes they are better for Guide Horses as they don't set off the airport metal detectors like metal horse shoes would. plus they help with grip on the varying surfaces Guide Horses go on, like escalators!

Oh and what about Cuddles? Cute yes in his guide harness and little shoes but look how confidently he guides his partner along that escalator.

These Guide Horses are just two examples of what now are world wide approximately ? (we're getting this number for you) miniature horses trained specifically with the purpose of being guide animals, assistance animals.

There are many reasons to use miniature horses as guide animals. Horses are herd dwelling animals, they instinctively 'guide' others in the herd that become impaired or aged. With humans there are many examples of sight impaired people, even totally blind people, riding horses in equestrian competitions, even in the Olympics. Often horse riders continue to ride long after they have become sight impaired. Riding along the trails for many miles, completely relying on the horse to guide them safely along that trail, and home again. Through the use of horses in battle there are many stories of horses that guided their injured rider to safety. Long after the rider had become semi conscious the horse continued back to the base. Yes you may think that's just the action of a veritable four legged hairy version of a homing pigeon, however, why didn't the horse gallop back to base? Why didn't they go the short regular route? Why didn't they stop and graze for hours and hours first? Because they could feel their rider was unbalanced and they 'guided' them back to base as safely and quickly as they knew how.

The creation of the Guide Horse Foundation started in the USA in 1999 by Janet and Don Burleson. Together they completed a feasibility study with miniature horses - were they suitable as assistance animals for visually impaired people? The result was a big YES.

What is a Guide Horse?

Guide Horses provide assistance; they are guide animals, for sight impaired people.

The most important words being Guide Horses and sight impaired - not totally blind. Guide Horse Australia miniature horses are being trained as assistance horses. Guide Horses can not and are not trained to replace Guide Dogs. They are different animals and can not provide the same level of decision making that dogs can. Horses are prey animals, dogs are predators. By their very natures they can never do the same roles. Guide Dogs are brilliant at their task, Guide Horses at theirs. The tasks given to perform are not the same.

Guide Horses are not for suitable for everyone. So far work done since 1999 in the USA has shown there is a strong demand for Guide Horses among: horse lovers that have sight or mobility impairments, those allergic to dogs, those who want a guide animal with a longer lifespan than a dog and a guide animal that doesn't have to live in the house with them.

According to the Guide Horse Foundation an international Poll by the Discovery Channel showed 27% of respondents would prefer a Guide Horse if they required a guide animal.

Horse Vs Dog

Guide Horses are not Guide Dog replacements . Horses are prey animals, dog's predators. The abilities of these two types of animals are very very different. Similar in some areas but fundamentally, instinctively and hard wired DIFFERENT in other areas.

Come with me for a moment please. Imagine we're walking along the street. I'm blind and have my Guide Dog beside me. We had stopped at the traffic lights waiting to cross; now the dit dit dit sound lets us know it is ok to cross the road so we step off the curb. But oh no, a car is running those lights and if we continued across we'd get hit. There is no way I would swap my guide animal to be a horse at that moment. With their hard wired instinct for flight or fight the little horse would most probably see the danger and make haste, without me, to flee the danger. Ferrari don't have the horse as their symbol for no reason! Horses can go from 0 to very fast in 3 seconds! If I held the guide line, restrained them, their instinct tells them to fight me ie: rear, strike, bite, whatever it takes to get away from the danger (and me!). My new nickname could easily become "Splat". Not a good look at all. This is just one of multiple examples why a Guide Horse is not designed to nor trained to replace a Guide Dog. They are trained to perform guiding tasks, assistance tasks, not to morph into being a whole different species.

You investigation around the web on this topic, the power of information at your fingertips, will no doubt yield many and varied, somewhat funny like the above Aussie classic and somewhat heated debate on this horse Vs dog topic. However I invite you to keep an open mind and whilst remembering that one can never replace or deliver the tasks of the other it is clear across the globe from this heated debate that the fabric of the debate is often lost. Change, the introduction of a new animal in the provision of assistance to sight impaired people, or any people, is difficult for some people to accept. It is new, different and for many just way to outside the box for them to cope with. So let's all be patient with one another and let the ongoing tests and results speak for themselves.

Whilst the use of Guide Horses is still relatively new and evolving congratulations to those people open minded enough to explore new options on how we can help improve and satisfy the lives of those with sight and other impairments.

Most interestingly many of the reasons given as why horses can't replace Guide Dogs are correct. Remember that no organization is going to put a human's life in harms way by providing them with an animal as their guide that has no chance whatsoever of delivering the full suite of guiding that a dog can. It's like suggesting you take a fish and expect it to live in your new lovely cage on the kitchen bench. In the same way a Guide Horse can never replace a Guide Dog you can't take a fish out of water!

In considering why miniature horses make good guide and assistance animals we've prepared this summary as your appetizer to have a look at.

Long Lifespan - Miniature Horse have an average lifespan of 30-40 years. According to Guide Dog trainers, Guide Dogs have a working life of 8-12 years.

Economical - Training a Guide Horse is cheaper than the $40,000+ to train a Guide Dog. Additionally the cost of feeding a miniature horse is cheaper than feeding a Guide Dog. Hence, Guide Horses become more cost-effective for those people suited to their assistance and can ensure that more people receive a guide animal quicker and for less ongoing cost.

Better acceptance - According to the Guide Horse Foundation many Guide Dog users report problems getting access to public places because their dog is perceived as a pet. Most people do not associate a horse as a pet, and Guide Horse users report that they are immediately recognized as a working service animal.

Calm Nature - Horses can be trained to remain calm in chaotic situations. Military, Police and Rescue Service Horses have proven how calmly they can remain. Guide Horses undergo the systematic desensitization training similar to that given to riot-control horses.

Memory like an Elephant- As a key to their survival horses possess phenomenal memories. A horse instinctively remembers dangerous locations, dangerous people or environments decades after their first encounter with that danger. Like wise they remember the good people, locations and environments.

Excellent Vision - Being a prey animal horses have eyes on the sides of their head, resulting in nearly 350 degrees, full circle, vision around them. Horses are the only guide animals capable of independent eye movement which means they can track potential danger with each eye. Horses can see clearly in almost total darkness. Whilst they don't have the color range that we do they certainly have much greater distance and clarity detection of images, during the day and night, than we do, or than dogs do.

Safety Conscious- Being a prey animal means horses are instinctively hard wired to be 'on the look out' for danger at all times. Horses have a natural propensity to guide their master along the safest most efficient route, and avoid obstacle accordingly.

High Stamina- Whilst not the power of a Shetland pony that had its height and strength used so effectively as a pit pony pulling carts along the underground tracks in the coal mines, miniature horses when properly conditioned can easily travel many miles in a single outing.

Good Manners and House Trained - Miniature horses are very clean and can be housebroken. Whilst they can not restrain their bowel movements for as long as a dog they can be trained to release on command once a routine has been established with them. Horses do not get fleas and only shed twice per year. Horses by nature are peaceful animals and can thus be trained to stand quietly when working.

 

Horse Intelligence Testing

All candidate horses for the USA Guide Horse program are given a field intelligence test prior to acceptance into the training program. The role of being a Guide Horse is demanding physically and mentally on the horse. The Foundation established this test to identify horses that demonstrated the cognitive ability to successfully complete the training program.

Click to see details on the Guide Horse Foundation (USA) field intelligence test.

 

Guide Dog Training and Testing

For Guide Dogs their training is different to that of the Guide Horse. Have a look at how intense and varied the Guide Dog training is.

They've been in movies for years - have a look!

The concept of using Guide Horses for sight impaired is not a new one. As kids many of us have played around using our pony, or imaginary pony, to help navigate us safely around the paddock or back yard back to the house, whilst we pretended to be blind. So it is that this idea of horses being used to help humans that loose their sight has featured in a number of motion pictures. These are just a few of Hollywood's best that we hope you get to watch and enjoy.

The Blocked Trail (1943)     

An educated dwarf horse holds the secret of a missing mine.

With educational stunts that are a cinch for kids this brilliant miniature horse proves to be the key member of this cast. The plot gets underway when the eccentric miner whom the little horse has been the constant companion is murdered. Everyone tries to get hold of the horse when it's discovered the miner was blind and used the little legend in the manner of a seeing eye dog. The horse thus becomes the link to lots and lots of treasures in the mine that remains hidden from sight!

 

The Fighting Stallion (1950)     

With Bill Edwards as Lon Evans, released from a navy hospital following WW II, Lon Evans learns that he faces eventual blindness and returns to his Wyoming ranch. Without access to anything else Lon opts to use one of his fathers stallions to be trained as his eyes. All the more exciting as the chosen horse is to be destroyed because of its alleged wildness. Lon knows otherwise and sets about to prove it, though there's not much time! This is certainly a movie where the title character has all the best scenes.

 

The Blindman (1971), with Ringo Starr     

This is very cool spaghetti western reworking of Zato Ichi starring Tony Anthony and Ringo Starr. Using his horse as his eyes and assistance, the blind man engages in a battle of wills with Domingo, a ruthless soul who sells the 50 women, mail order brides, to ebullient Mexican army general Raf Baldassare (a co-star in all of Anthony's westerns). Hold on tight for lots of action!

Objectives of using Guide Horses

The original Guide Horse Foundation (USA) has it as their mission to provide a safe, cost-effective and reliable mobility alternative for visually impaired people. The Foundation is committed to delivering Guide Horses at no cost to the blind, relying on un-paid volunteers and charitable donations to pay all travel and housing expenses for the blind handler's on-site training.

Guide Horse Australia is in its infancy. We are currently establishing the necessary business relationships with the relevant associations to ensure that the training of the miniature horses and first offering of assistance animals to visually impaired people goes as wonderfully for all parties as it can.

We are assisted in the design, development and implementation of our Guide Horse training by our advisory expert Sue Ellen Manny (nee Lovett). Paralympian, Australian Ambassador, incredibly successful fundraiser (we're talking millions of dollars successful!) and all round lovely lady. Sue Ellen was born with the hereditary disease Retinitis Pigmentosa. Eventually this disease shall result in her total blindness. But until then she still trains and competes at an elite level in dressage, all the while having incredibly limited sight. And all the while assisted by her guide dog.

Above is Sue Ellen, her mare Ko-Olinda riding Grand Prix level dressage and Prada her guide waiting patiently on the side of the competition arena.

Prior to Prada Eccles guided Sue Ellen during the 1990's. With the other Australian Paralympic Team riders Eccles guided Sue Ellen to several international competitions, including:

 

Eccles retired after the Sydney Olympics.

After Eccles was Jag. A most handsome dog, dark brown in color. He accompanied Sue Ellen in our crossing of the Sydney Harbour Bridge via horse and carriage. The first such crossing in over 20 years. Yes, complete with Police mounted escort.

Australia's first Guide Horse

The very first miniature horse that we purchased and commenced training with was Toby. Purchased from a Stud in country New South Wales, Australia with very experienced owners who were also judges of miniature horses and regularly campaigned their own stock successfully at National and State level shows.

If Toby was a human he'd be what we'd describe as the silent and deadly type. Silent as he didn't come across as the most in your face, boisterous, inquisitive horse in the herd, however deadly as you soon realized he was the one that took in all the information, wasn't easily distracted and had such a calm confident nature that soon you were mesmerized by his confidence and he produced a state in his many human admirers where I'm sure if we'd tested them their heart rates would have lowered, respiration lowered and certainly sense of calm about them from having spent some time, albeit even a little, with this little legend, Toby.

After some very exciting initial training Toby progressed to mastering stairs, and even stairs that were quite narrow with a sharp right angle turn to them, and calmness through even the most chaotic of experiences including chainsaws, heavy machinery, screaming children, agitated adults and quad bikes - all the while being on his own, no other horses to provide him emotional support.

Sadly Toby was unable to continue with his training. We have most recently commenced working with Boogie, officially known as P.S. Let's Boogie who was purchased from the same stud as Toby and paddock buddies with Toby for quite a while.

Boogie is quite a different personality to Toby. Watching him behave he certainly considers himself the 'rock star' trapped in a small body. Perhaps it was his days on the show campaign trail and collecting boxes full of Champion and National Champion ribbons! Horse IQ Boogie is higher than Toby. However it is yet to be seen if we can train Boogie to have a level of controlled enthusiasm! He is quick of speed - faster than any of our thoroughbreds, quick of mind - don't you even think about leaving the car without the park brake on, he'll be in it and driving off in a flash, quick of wit - he's very cheeky and mischievous.

Stay tuned for updates in our newsletter for how Boogie's training is progressing and what adventures we've encountered along the way. Any suggestions or comments please don't hesitate to share them with us by writing to Boogie@equus101.com.

As an interim if you'd like to read more about Guide Horses please have a look at The Guide Horse Foundation, or this wonderful reference by the Guide Horse Foundation founder Janet Burleson.

Or have a read of a great article from the New York Times of the life and times, daily challenges and obstacles, of having a Guide Horse, and people’s reactions to them.

A true story

WALKING THE DOG A WOMAN was flying from Seattle to San Francisco. Unexpectedly, the plane was diverted to Sacramento along the way. The flight attendant explained that there would be a delay, and if the passengers wanted to get off the aircraft the plane would re-board in 50 minutes. Everybody got off the plane except one lady who was blind. The man had noticed her as he walked by and could tell the lady was blind because her Seeing Eye dog lay quietly underneath the seats in front of her throughout the entire flight. He could also tell she had flown this very flight before because the pilot approached her, and calling her by name, said, "Kathy, we are in Sacramento for almost an hour. Would you like to get off and stretch your legs?" The blind lady replied, "No thanks, but maybe Buddy would like to stretch his legs." Picture this: All the people in the gate area came to a complete stand still when they looked up and saw the pilot walk off the plane with a Seeing Eye dog! The pilot was even wearing sunglasses. People scattered. They not only tried to change planes, but they were trying to change airlines! True story... Have a great day, laugh and remember... ... THINGS AREN'T ALWAYS AS THEY APPEAR…