Miniature Horses in the Dining Room? according to the new ADA its the law
June 26,2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The new Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines which went into effect on March 15,and are already being applied to everything form miniature golf courses, driving ranges, amusement parks, shooting ranges and saunas and hotel pools .
But the provision that got our attention in the “Revised ADA Standards for Accessible Design, is provision requiring businesses to allow miniature horses on their premises as guide animals for the disabled.
According to CNS NEWS ( https://cnsnews.com/news/article/new-disability-regs-limit-slope-mini-golf-holes-require-businesses-admit-mini-horses) a section of the guidelines regulating commercial facilities states that, “a public accommodation shall make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures to permit the use of a miniature horse by an individual with a disability if the miniature horse has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of the individual with a disability.”
A public accommodation is defined as “a private entity that owns, leases (or leases to), or operates a place of public accommodation.”
“Miniature horses were suggested by some commenters as viable alternatives to dogs for individuals with allergies, or for those whose religious beliefs preclude the use of dogs,” the rules state. Also mentioned as a reason to include the animals is the longer life span of miniature horses – providing approximately 25 years of service as opposed to seven years for dogs.
“Some individuals with disabilities have traveled by train and have flown commercially with their miniature horses,” the Justice Department notes.
“Similar to dogs, miniature horses can be trained through behavioral reinforcement to be ‘housebroken,’” it adds.
However, “Ponies and full-size horses are not covered.”
A business owner can deny admission to a miniature horse that is not housebroken, whose handler does not have sufficient control of the animal, or if the horse’s presence compromises “legitimate safety requirements.”
Cant wait to see my first mini horse in Ridgewood.