Guide horse, originally uploaded by DanDee Shots.
A couple of days ago on Flickr, I came across this picture and was astonished, having never before heard of guide-ponies. I researched the subject and found this very interesting material concerning the Guide Horse Foundation.
Our mission is to provide a safe, cost-effective and reliable mobility alternative for visually impaired people. The Guide Horse 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.
The Guide Horse Foundation was founded in 1999 as an experimental program to access the abilities of miniature horses as assistance animals. There is a critical shortage of guide animals for the blind and guide horses are an appropriate assistance animal for thousands of visually impaired people in the USA.
In early experiments, Guide Horses have shown great promise as a mobility option, and people who have tried Guide Horses report that the Guide Horses perform exceptionally well at keeping their person safe. These friendly horses provide an experimental alternative mobility option for blind people. People who have tried Guide Horses report that the horses demonstrate excellent judgment and are not easily distracted by crowds and people.
There is more material here.
There are lots of pictures and more information in the link I provided. Please take a look.
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Shirley Buxton 
6 replies on “Seeing Eye Dog? No, Seeing Eye Pony!”
Shirley,
Thanks for having me.
I’m a born-again Christian. I currently attend a Calvary Chapel.
Thanks,
Bill
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Hi, Bill. welcome to my blog. Hope you come here often.
I’m with the United Pentecostal Church, whose headquarters are in Hazelwood, Missouri. Actually, at this moment they are holding their annual general conference in Tampa, Fla, but unfortunately I was not able to go this year.
It might interest you to know my father was a minister, my husband is also, two of my sons are ministers, as is one of my grandsons. We’re a family actively involved in the work of God, really striving to do the right thing.
Tell me about you. Are you with any certain denomination?
Again, thank you for being here.
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Shirley,
I was just wondering what religion and/or denomination you are?
Thanks,
Bill
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BOB, wish you well with your contest. Thanks for visiting my site. Hope you come by often.
Yes, ROCHELLE, I have. Here’s a link for hearing ear dogs.
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This is really interesting!! Have you ever heard of hearing ear dogs?
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We all love our dogs and I love my dog Scamp. We have a lot of fun together. Because of that I decided to start a Doggie Photo Contest on my very popular Web Page. Please take some time out and enter a picture of your dog. It does not matter what breed or age. It is all for fun. Your privacy is protected. Have fun. Follow the photo contest link.
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