INTELLIGENT MINIATURE HORSES IDEAL AS GUIDE COMPANIONS|迷你馬壽命長.聰明易訓練 導盲好伙伴

In the U.S., a blind woman has lived the past 14 years of her life with the friendship and companionship of a guide-horse. Let's find out more. Guide dogs navigating the streets with their blind owners are commonly seen, but what would you think if you saw a horse? Panda, a miniature horse who does the work of a guide dog, has been by her owner Ann Edie's side for 14 years. Since 2003, Panda has guided Edie across busy streets, through crowded buildings, and even into cars or onto trains. The two are the best partners and friends. ==ANN EDIE guide horse user== The communication between Panda and myself when we're working is, I think, even closer than I was with my first guide dog. Years ago, the 69-year-old retiree was emotionally drained by the death of her guide dog and frustrated by failures with subsequent dogs. She then decided to try a miniature horse because they live so much longer and have traits that make them well-suited to guide work. The upstate New Yorker turned to her friend Alexandra Kurland, a horse trainer, to train Panda. Within two years, Kurland successfully made Panda a guide horse by using a training technique that employs a hand-held clicker and treats to reinforce correct behavior. ==ALEXANDRA KURLAND trainer== I'm always impressed by her accuracy. I'm always impressed by her focus. While there are an estimated 10,000 dogs guiding their blind partners in the United States, there are only about a half-dozen miniature horses in that role. Guide horses remain rare as they eat more, go to the bathroom more and need more space, which requires a lot of extra work for their owners. However, for Edie, there's no question that her fuzzy black-and-white companion is the most ideal among all choices. TRANSLATED BY ARIEL HSIEH