1) Horses can be "trained" to handle
certain situations, but when encountering something new or strange they often panic
or spook very easily.
2) Horses can go UP steps with no problem, HOWEVER, because
of their LACK OF DEPTH PERCEPTION, they find it very difficult to go DOWN steps.
I notice all the time that MY horses would rather JUMP OFF of anything that is
not straight ground level. This may create problems with curb sides, stairs,
entering buildings etc. Often a horse will try to JUMP THE ENTIRE FLIGHT OF STEPS
going down!!
Some horses even try to jump lines painted on the road, or cracks in the
flooring as well as shadows! Can you imagine what that would be like if they did this
while a Vision Impaired person was holding their harness??
This is a natural instinct! How can you expect to reliably, consistently
overcome this instinct?
3) Horses are unable to stand in one spot for long periods
of time.
4) Horses are a FLIGHT animal and their instinct is to
always FLEE - unlike a dog, who can remain calm in tense and stressful situations.
5) Horses cannot lie down for extended periods of time.
6) Horses colic easily. It is not a good idea to restrict
their elimination. Also, because of their very sensitive stomachs, you must monitor
closely what they consume. Grabbing even a small bite of the many toxic ornamental plants
found in cities or buildings that they would pass has the potential to KILL them!
7) Horses thrive on "routine" and can "stress
colic" when their daily routine is changed in any way, such as a change in feeding or
watering patterns, change in environment, being forced to lie down for extended periods of
time, sudden changes in temperature etc.
8) Most, if not all of the trained guide horses that are
"working" or "trained" today are dwarf miniature horses. Most
dwarves do not live a normal life expectancy (for a Miniature Horse) and they usually have
many more health problems than the average Miniature Horse. These health problems increase
as the horse ages.
9) Police Horses used in the cities have a trained SIGHTED
rider to control them if they get excited or nervous. A blind person (or any person
who is visually impaired or visually challenged) TOTALLY DEPENDS on their Guide Animal to
remain calm and maneuver them (the person) to safety. The visually impaired person cannot
be expected to "control" the Guide Animal if or when the animal gets
nervous and spooks!
10) Even dwarf Miniature Horses (as small as they are)
cannot "hide" under a table or a seat in a restaurant or office etc.
11) Horses are not capable of "intelligent
disobedience". When your life is in their hands, can you really trust them
to "NOT GO forward" if the situation warrants it, even if you are insisting they
should proceed? A Guide Dog WILL make the right choice!
