Miniature horse is lone exception to dog in federal law governing service animal

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Miniature horse is lone exception to dog in federal law governing service

animals for disabled

LOS ANGELES — Most people who require a service animal to assist with a

disability use dogs, but new federal guidelines also permit use of an animal

that might come as a surprise: miniature horses.

(photo at link)

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Horse experts, disability advocates and breeders say not many people use

miniature horses, but the new Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines could

change that.

" As much work as she is — and she is a lot more work than a dog — I would not

trade her for 10 dogs, " said Mona Ramouni, 30, a blind woman who lives in East

Lansing, Mich., and attends classes at both Michigan State University and the

University of Michigan.

Her 5-year-old mini is named Cali (short for Mexicali Rose), stands 30 inches

tall and is the size of a Newfoundland dog. Cali likes watching television,

pizza, rolling around in the mud and attention, which she gets a lot of because

she is a people-magnet, Ramouni said.

" You can train them to do some pretty amazing things, " said Weiss, senior

director of shelter research and development for the American Society for the

Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Most horses live into their late 20s and early 30s, Weiss said, two or three

times the lifespan of a dog.

The ADA rules are basically the same for dogs and minis, as long as the horse is

housebroken.

Ramouni says she wrote everyone she knows asking them to petition the Department

of Justice to include miniature horses in the new ADA law.

Dolores Arste, an animal trainer and relationship coach in Mena, Ark., did her

part. She was Cali's trainer and says five other minis in the United States

serve as guides for the blind. All of the trainers wrote to the DOJ, she said.

Ramouni went blind shortly after birth. Growing up in Detroit, she could not

have a dog because her devout Muslim family considered them unclean.

Unlike service animals, who learn to turn off lights, open refrigerators and

pick up dropped objects, guide animals have to lead their handlers around

danger, get into cars and onto public transportation and follow others, Arste

said.

Because a guide animal's job is to get the handler safely from Point A to Point

B, " they have to able and willing to disobey commands, so it takes a special dog

or horse, " Arste said. If there are tools or toys or debris on a path, the

animal has to resist even if the handler says go, she explained.

On the other hand, the animal also has to trust the handler to make the final

decision. Ramouni recalled Cali hesitating at a flight of stairs, but ultimately

accepting Ramouni's urging to go. " She trusted me enough to do it for me, "

Ramouni said.

Horses need more room than dogs and are more work for owners. Dogs are fed and

walked a couple of times a day, while horses eat hay and grass and produce waste

throughout the day, Weiss said.

But minis can be housetrained, Arste said. Miniature horses can be fed hay or

grass in the form of pellets or cubes, though that can cause ulcers, said

Malcor-Chapman, who owns the KPM HoneyPony ranch in Norco.

Even the smallest mini needs an 8-by-10-foot stall and room to run, said

Malcor-Chapman, who is also a professional mini mare midwife.

" A horse is meant to be in an environment where he can move about, small or not,

eat throughout the day and be with his buddies, " Weiss said.

Horses don't get fleas, but they do get parasites, ticks and attract some other

pests, Weiss said.

Arste doesn't think there will be a run on miniature horses because of the new

law, but Weiss worries that some individuals may rush to get them, then leave

them homeless if it doesn't work out.

" It's not unusual, unfortunately, for them to end up on the slaughterhouse floor

because there's no home for them, " Weiss said.

Ramouni and Arste have kept a blog tracking Cali's career as a guide horse. On

March 17, Ramouni wrote:

" Life is hard sometimes — complicated and full of challenges that we think we

might not be able to handle. ... If Cali can try, if Cali can persevere, it is

my duty, my privilege, to keep on keeping on as well, because I can't let my

sweet girl down. "