Guide pony!

[turnbuckle]

Saw this link: https://news.sky.com/story/blind-ma...irst-guide-horse-11239836?dcmp=snt-sf-twitter

Lovely.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Ah, I saw this on our local news. First a clip of them together out in the town, then with the pony (who is only 8 months old :eek3 in the studio.

Sadly, I do not think that it can ever work. I think that it would be much better if Mr Patel gets help to overcome his fear of dogs, so that he could get a guide dog.

https://www.facebook.com/BBCNW/videos/1797058466991874/

 

[LaurenBay]

Not sure if he will be as useful as a Dog, for starters he is still bound to be spooked by certain things. Dogs generally are much more confident animals.

I also find it a bit sad that the Horse is only 8 months old.

Also what Horses have they based this quote on?

"Horses have a longer lifespan than dogs, living to be between 45 and 50 years old, which some have argued makes them a more appropriate lifelong companion for blind people"

 

[turnbuckle]

Gosh hadn't picked up that he was only 8 months old. That does seem daft.

But I instinctively think it could work, although perhaps with an older pony.

But perhaps bomb-proofing from an early age can work? Agreed, it seems a bit hard to deprive the pony of it's foal-hood, but if it ends up having a great job to do...?

 

[joosie]

It does work. Using minis as guide and therapy animals is quite a big thing in the US. They're even allowed in the cabin on domestic flights.

 

[tallyho!]

It works very well. They have been using ponies in the US for a long time. They get very well trained and just like a guide puppy they do have to be young. They can do just as much, are as intelligent as dogs and they live much longer so someone doesn't have to have as many dogs.

http://www.guidehorse.com/

 

[pennyturner]

For longevity, surely you'd go for a donkey or a mule.

Can't help but think this is more about 'cultural' considerations than practical ones. First time a car backfires, they'll be chasing it up and down the high street, and good luck getting it past the carrots in the supermarket!

 

[ozpoz]

I don't like it, sorry. I think it is a sad life for a herd animal that grazes throughout the day. I don't see equines as companion animals living in domestic situations like this - too unnatural for them.

 

[Sukistokes2]

On either channel 4 or 5 there is a programme called Super Pets and there is a lady with a guide pony. That little pony is well loved, does a valued job, well and is given plenty of time to be a pony. I do not think they will be as widely used as Dogs but they could be a valued asset for blind people. I’d rather see them working like this then being neglected to get fat in a field or starved and forgotten. They will make the lives of people easier. If you go blind and need a guide animal and don’t want a pony don’t have one. However, I am happy there are ways the lives of visually impaired people can be improved and jobs found for these cleaver little beasts.

 

[Dave's Mam]

On either channel 4 or 5 there is a programme called Super Pets and there is a lady with a guide pony. That little pony is well loved, does a valued job, well and is given plenty of time to be a pony. I do not think they will be as widely used as Dogs but they could be a valued asset for blind people. I’d rather see them working like this then being neglected to get fat in a field or starved and forgotten. They will make the lives of people easier. If you go blind and need a guide animal and don’t want a pony don’t have one. However, I am happy there are ways the lives of visually impaired people can be improved and jobs found for these cleaver little beasts.

Indeed.

 

[tallyho!]

I don't like it, sorry. I think it is a sad life for a herd animal that grazes throughout the day. I don't see equines as companion animals living in domestic situations like this - too unnatural for them.

Well....

you could argue that dogs are pack animals and should be living in a pack out in the mountains calling to the moon... not being led about on a leash and having a crap on the pavements twice a day

 

[ester]

quite a bit predator/prey difference though...

and animals designed to eat a lot of the time, how much hay do you carry round with you for when you get to where you are going?

 

[tallyho!]

quite a bit predator/prey difference though...

and animals designed to eat a lot of the time, how much hay do you carry round with you for when you get to where you are going?

 

[Tiddlypom]

Plus you'd need supersized poo bags...

(I know that he's fittd with a 'nappy', but it would have to be emptied at some point).

Sorry, I still think that it's a really bad idea. A therapy pony, yes. A guide pony, no.

 

[ycbm]

It works very well. They have been using ponies in the US for a long time. They get very well trained and just like a guide puppy they do have to be young. They can do just as much, are as intelligent as dogs and they live much longer so someone doesn't have to have as many dogs.

http://www.guidehorse.com/

That site says:

We are always seeking legally-blind volunteers to participate in our experiment

Established almost twenty years ago and is still a experiment. Also on that site are photos of:

Two foals 'tucked up'' in bed with pillows and a duvet.

A guide pony looking very uncomfortable as it is sniffed by a dog.

A guide pony walking through a park looking, and pulling, off over the grass in a way which would never be seen in a guide dog.


I think it's a gimmick, and not a good one. Many of a horse's basic instincts are the reverse of what you need in a guide animal, and training them to overcome those instincts risks creating a working life of constant stress.

 

[ester]

I do generally wonder how the eating thing is dealt with, if you take a guide dog to work it has breakfast in the morning and off you go, it mooches round the office, pops out to it's dedicated toilet patch on occassion and then goes home.

If you have an animal designed to have regular access to forage what do you do for the 8 hour working day?

 

[touchstone]

I think it's a terrible idea, that pony was still a foal and should be learning manners and proper playing with its equine companions, not being dragged round a supermarket.

As YCBM has said, it is expected to go against all of its natural instincts and how many times on here do people say that no horse can be completely bombproof? The consequences could be far worse for a visually impaired individual and others in a busy city and presumably getting taxis and using public transport will be a huge issue, so its use will be restricted anyway.

I felt saddened watching it.

 

[Leo Walker]

My YO was joking about training Leo to be a guide pony today. I love him dearly but if I had no sight at all no way would I want to rely on him!

 

[*Sahara]

On either channel 4 or 5 there is a programme called Super Pets and there is a lady with a guide pony. That little pony is well loved, does a valued job, well and is given plenty of time to be a pony. I do not think they will be as widely used as Dogs but they could be a valued asset for blind people. I’d rather see them working like this then being neglected to get fat in a field or starved and forgotten. They will make the lives of people easier. If you go blind and need a guide animal and don’t want a pony don’t have one. However, I am happy there are ways the lives of visually impaired people can be improved and jobs found for these cleaver little beasts.

This

 

[ycbm]

So here's a video of one. In the course of a ninety second video, it has its person trip up and down a kerb, almost walk out in front of an approaching car, and it fades out with the pony pushing the handler out into a main road.

I'm going to try and find some better examples, but that's exactly what I expected to see.


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3a47ToWtrfY

 

[ycbm]

OK, I've now watched every YouTube video I can find of guide ponies for blind people and there isn't one that shows more than a few seconds of uncut footage of a working pony. They all have fade-outs or cut-offs just as the pony is about to do something like knock some boxes over in a supermarket aisle or drift into a road.

There are some uncomfortable videos of ponies living alone in a tiny corral, or in a garden shed, too.

Having watched them, and owning two minis of my own, I'm now dead against it.

 

[ozpoz]

Well....

you could argue that dogs are pack animals and should be living in a pack out in the mountains calling to the moon... not being led about on a leash and having a crap on the pavements twice a day

yes - I would hesitate to keep a dog if that was how it lived.

 

[Orangehorse]

I had heard of this before in the USA. As dogs don't live all that long someone decided to try a pony. Lots of things to think about. How does a pony know that something they can get underneath is too low for the human? Apparently they can overcome this - same as a dog I suppose. And the spookiness is like any working horse such as Police or Army. Some will cope, others not.

The site I was on said that the pony must go out in a paddock after a working day and they provide an equine companion for it too. (Many horses in the USA live on hay in a dry coral, even in places where the grass does grow). They do have to wear "nappies" but they can be trained only to wee when appropriate. They younger they start the better.