A guide horse is an alternative mobility option for blind people who do not wish to or cannot use a guide dog. History The idea of a guide horse for a blind person dates back to 1943 if not earlier, the film The Blocked Trail of that year having a dwarf horse guide a blind miner. The Burlesons though may appear to have a claim for the practical proposal of using a miniature horse as a service animal for the blind or partially sighted. In 1998, while on a horseback ride in New York City, Janet and Don Burleson of Kittrell, North Carolina, noticed how their horses were able to sense on their own when to cross the street. Janet recalled watching a blind rider compete in horse shows where "the woman gave the horse directions, and it took her around the obstacles and the other horses in the class. It was serving as her guide and that was something I'd never forgotten." She wondered if a miniature horse could be trained as a guide animal for the blind. Janet had trained Arabian show horses for 30 years and was familiar with equine behavior. But her urban experience changed her view of the behavior exhibited by one of their pet miniature horses, "Twinkie", on their farm back home. The animal often followed the Burlesons around like a dog, and rode in the back of their minivan. From these experiences, they began training miniature horses to be seeing eye horses. Their first trainee was Twinkie. From that start, the Burlesons developed a rigorous training program for miniature horses that was similar to a guide dog's, adding systematic desensitization training, similar to that given horses used for riot control. There were setbacks; the first time they took a miniature horse to the grocery store, it grabbed a Snickers bar off the shelf. The goal was to train these small horses to meet all requirements to become a guide animal for the blind. One of the first people to use a guide horse was Dan Shaw. At age 17, he was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, an incurable eye disease that deteriorates vision over time. In 1998 he attended a school for the blind to learn basic skills, such as how to read Braille. However, he stated, "... I was shocked at how few options I had. I didn't want to struggle with a