Explain? Blind People driving carts?

[Gina]

We saw a service pony in MGM last year! It was as small as a dog and had a handle harness and sneakers on. Awesome.

The little guide horses are absolutely amazing. They're more than a novelty -- they're a very practical option. The average "useful" worklife span for a guide dog is about 10-12 years, but for a guide horse it's 30+. A blind person could have one guide horse for a large part of their life, instead of several dogs. Plus, the horses have an incredible 350 degree field of vision -- basically they can see everything but their own tail.

I tried to talk my dad into getting a horsie, but his wife would have nothing of it. No matter -- we can't imagine him not having his guide dog Newley now.

Here's some more info on the guide horses, for anyone interested:

http://www.guidehorse.org/


-gina-

 

[BlindTyldak]

We trained our own dog to be a service dog for my husband when he needed it . . . he has MS and if he fell, for a while had a VERY hard time standing up on his own. We trained our malamute to help him brace so he could get his legs under him again; we didn't trust strangers to always be helpful, or worse, all it would take is my DH giving someone a good tug so that they fell themselves and we'd be sued. Once my DH went on new medication he no longer needed the service, so the dog went back to being a house-pet.

 

[SueM in MN]

The average "useful" worklife span for a guide dog is about 10-12 years, but for a guide horse it's 30+. A blind person could have one guide horse for a large part of their life, instead of several dogs.
Here's some more info on the guide horses, for anyone interested:

http://www.guidehorse.org/


-gina-

Thanks for the link.
I knew a person who was blind and she felt the worst part about using a guide dog was the fairly short useful life span. She and the dog she was using when I knew her were a very good team and she was not looking forward to the time when she would have to get a new dog.

 

[welovedis]

The little guide horses are absolutely amazing. They're more than a novelty -- they're a very practical option. The average "useful" worklife span for a guide dog is about 10-12 years, but for a guide horse it's 30+. A blind person could have one guide horse for a large part of their life, instead of several dogs. Plus, the horses have an incredible 350 degree field of vision -- basically they can see everything but their own tail.

I tried to talk my dad into getting a horsie, but his wife would have nothing of it. No matter -- we can't imagine him not having his guide dog Newley now.

Here's some more info on the guide horses, for anyone interested:

http://www.guidehorse.org/

-gina-

Gina-
Thanks very much for posting that! I had honestly never heard of a guide horse ( ) but think it is an terrific idea. I had also never given much thought to the facts about a dogs' lifespan so it certainly makes sense.