The Panda Project
A Guide Horse for the Blind
In September of 2001 I began training Panda, a nine month old miniature horse, to be a guide for the blind. In June of 2003 at two and a half years of age, Panda was turned over to her owner, Ann Edie. She is now a working guide. In fact, as I update this introduction, it is now 2011. Panda had her tenth birthday in January. If she were a dog, Ann would now be looking ahead to her retirement, but at ten Panda is still a very young horse. Hopefully she will have many more years of service ahead of her.
These reports begin with a mission statement written by Ann Edie. It describes our purpose for training a horse to be a guide: the questions we had, and the overall intent of our project.
The Training Reports cover Panda’s training and were written at the time of the events described.
Panda in training at the post office.
Panda and her owner, Ann Edie, at the New York State Library.
Panda is napping on the job! Exactly what she should be doing while we enjoy a day out.
Photos by Neil Soderstrom, Copyright 2003
I have included several reports written by Ann Edie as Panda made the transition into full work. And I have added several periodic updates. See the index below for links to all of these pages.
In addition, Panda is featured in the following DVDS in the "Click That Teaches" Lesson series:
You can also read about Panda in:
Panda A Guide For Ann
This is a children's book written by Rosanna Hansen with Photos by Neil Soderstrom.
Panda Project Reports