Horse Powered

Some blind people get around using a guide dog. Not Cheryl Spencer. A horse is just a horse, unless of course that horse is Princess Confetti.

Stable or bit for this equine? Neigh. The 26-inch-tall Appaloosa sleeps in a closet. You may have seen her in the aisles of Target off Beach Boulevard or waiting patiently near a table at Cracker Barrel off Butler Boulevard. She rides in the back of Cheryl Spencer's minivan and helps her navigate through life. Certified by Florida Service Dog Inc., Confetti is one of five working guide horses for the blind. Cheryl and Confetti were only the third guide horse and owner pairing in the country, and the trial has been a success for both.

"She certainly makes life a lot nicer for me. It's nice that I don't have to depend on him [Chris, Cheryl's husband]," she said.

Cheryl began losing her sight as a teenager. She had two guide dogs over more than two dozen years, and as her last dog neared the end of his working life, the thought of losing and then training another one was too much. So she turned to guide horses - with life expectancies of 35 years or more.

Confetti, born in 2001 at a miniature Appaloosa ranch in Christmas, Fla., was too small to breed. Owner Barbara McDermott was planning to keep her as a pet and a baby sitter for foals when Cheryl called looking for a horse to train.

McDermott immediately thought of Confetti. "She was just very friendly . . . and was just very smart," McDermott said. "I just figured [Cheryl] needed her more than I did. And she turned out to be perfect. She really kind of just fits in with that lifestyle."

The tiny horse has flown coach on a plane to Boston (in the bulkhead seats); she's enjoyed a night on the Sun Cruz Casino; she visits retirement homes and hospitals and even has starred in public service announcements about guide animals.

The Guide Horse Foundation lists several characteristics for the ideal guide horse owner including horse lovers, those allergic to dogs or who have dog phobia and others who prefer an outdoor guide animal. Current applicants are on a waiting list and, according to the foundation's Web site, there is an immediate need for additional trainers.

Cheryl didn't have to wait because she found Confetti on her own, and she was the first owner to train her horse herself. The Spencers have found that they receive immediate acceptance of Confetti, more so than with the guide dogs. Cheryl figures a small horse is less threatening than a dog. And, unlike guide dogs that can become distracted, Confetti graciously accepts attention from others, and Cheryl allows it.

"Distractions to a dog are things like food on a table, and Confetti's are more like grass in the sidewalk cracks," said Carol Christopherson, president and founder of Florida Service Dogs Inc.

The techniques for training a horse are nearly opposite those for training a dog. A horse, generally safety-conscious and shy by nature, must be "de-spooked," Cheryl said, where it's just the opposite for a dog.

Loud noises (such as the slot machines on the Sun Cruz Casino) can scare Confetti, and Cheryl has to reassure her with comfort food such as carrots or favorite treats such as butterscotch or Werther's Originals.

Confetti wears a harness that identifies her as an official guide animal, and when she's in public, cell phone cameras come out. Children flock to her. "That's something you don't see everyday," is a frequent utterance of onlookers.

And the Spencers relish the attention. It gives them a chance to teach others that a horse isn't just a horse. Of course.