DEARBORN, Michigan (AFP) – Mona Ramouni's fingers fly across the text as she proofreads yet another page of a calculus textbook to be published in Braille -- with her guide pony sitting patiently by.
It is dull work for tiny Cali who serves as Ramouni's eyes through a world she cannot see, and the pony keeps butting her head into Ramouni's chest.
"Cali! Stop it," Ramouni exclaims, but she can't keep the pride out of her voice when she realizes what the pretty brown pony with a soft black mane has gotten up to.
Rolling back her thick lips, Cali has grasped the tab of the zipper on the bag of treats Ramouni carries around her waist and is slowly pulling it open with her teeth.
"She knows which part has the carrots," Ramouni says in amazement. "She's really smart."
Cali is just one of a handful of miniature horses in the United States known to be used as guide animals for the blind.
Weighing in at under 100 pounds (45 kilograms) , miniature horses are about the same size as a large dog but are much stockier and can help support people with mobility issues.
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