Horse wheelchairs..

charleysummer

charleysummer

Well-Known Member
Joined
13 February 2010
Messages
1,084
Location
UK Midlands
Visit site
I posted this a while ago on another forum and was suprised not many people had heard about it, just came across it by accident again so thought i'd put it on here..
(probably already done the rounds on here but never mind!)

http://www.guidehorse.com/miniature_horse_wheelchairs.htm

my opinon = :( wtf! that is not life for a horse- yes it is a dwarf pony but it has a brain and instincts the same as any other larger horse. ridiculous.

eta- guide ponies? they are not dogs!! they belong in a field not on a harness in the city
 
Last edited:
saw a dwarf pony at a local farm thing, poor thing literally had knees and hooves, no actual legs and a major roach back! saw an ad earlier for a rare breed 'dwarf' shetland for quite a lot of money, poor thing was only 11 months old and already looked crippled :-(
 
050-2.jpg
 
I DO have a problem with the deliberate ( or careless) breeding of dwarf any animals given the known health problems that come with the condition :mad:


but if the condition is an accidental occurrence and the horse ( in this example) is supported to access as much as possible of its natural behaviours than maybe it can have a quality of life. NO one can say positively or negatively on this, one can only watch to see if the horse is

* eating
* intereacting with others
* able to lie down and get up and move around to graze etc.

The pictured horse may for example be able to access more natural behaviours than racehorses/ competition horses stabled 20 plus hours out of 24 :rolleyes:. Who is to say which is better / worse :confused:



As to the question of the morals / ethics of whether horses hould be utilised as assistance animals. In my opinion there is no difference in the use of horses as opposed to dogs or monkeys ........ if one is prepared to accept dogs ( prey animals with a need to run / chase etc) and monkeys ( primates meant to be hangig around in trees) the the use of a horse ( meant to graze over hundreds of acres not just in a field) is not different. In all circumstances it is hoped that the owners will provide "downtime" for the animal that will mimic its natural instincts ( give the dog long walks / runs and play chasing / fetching games, play with other dogs... give the monkey freetime in a large area where it can swing around..... let the horse graze and interact with others of its species).

To say that these horses should not be used as guides for the stated reason is illogical ;)

Actually there is more logic for a horse to so such a role ........ unlike a dog that tends to alternate periods of sleep / lying down with high energy running / hunting a horse will spend longer periods walking around with some bits of standing still / resting .... this fits in with what humans want / need when getting out and about.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top