As the Guide Horse experiment continues, the issue of “hidden discrimination” becomes an issue.  During visits to major metropolitan areas, Guide Horse users have reported that they have no trouble getting taxis, and some believe that the issue may be related to the religious beliefs of the cab drivers. 

Many guide dog users report that it is nearly impossible to get a taxi in large metropolitan areas and that many of the taxi drivers use the excuse that they are “allergic” to dogs, in order to avoid picking-up blind people with guide dogs. 

Many blind people speculate that the religious beliefs of the Muslim population can be a factor, primarily because of the high percentages of Islamic cab drivers in the United States.  In New York, CNN estimates that one-half of all cab drivers are Muslim. 

http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/01/07/ramadan.taxi/  

This high representation of Muslim cabbies is not unique to the east coast.  In Phoenix it is estimated that one-half of cab drivers are Muslim: 

http://www.knxv.com/news/morenews/index.asp?did=13135  

Islam considers the dog “unclean”, and they can become very upset when exposed to dogs.  In other countries, dog owners are openly discriminated against, as noted in this BBC article: 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2326357.stm 

“Dogs are considered unclean in Islamic law and the spread of dog ownership in Westernised secular circles in Iran is frowned upon by the religious establishment.  

"I demand the judiciary arrest all dogs with long, medium or short legs - together with their long-legged owners," Hojatolislam Hassani is quoted as saying in the reformist Etemad newspaper. "Otherwise I'll do it myself," said the outspoken cleric, who leads Friday prayers in the north-western city of Urumiyeh. . . . In June, police banned the sale of dogs and penalised anyone walking a dog in public. The practice is seen by conservatives as a corrupting influence of decadent Western culture.” 

Guide Horses have not reported any trouble getting taxi’s in major metropolitan areas including New York City, although most Guide Horse users prefer to use mini-van or English style cabs that are easily accessible by disabled people.   

Some of the Muslim cab drivers that I have spoken with say that their culture has great respect for horses, and there are centuries of precedent for welcoming horses into their homes.  The Bedouin tribes have been keeping their prized Arabian horses inside their tents for hundreds of years. 

Because very few people are allergic to horses, the use of the “I’m allergic” excuse is also much less of a factor in the “hidden” discrimination against guide animals users.  As more working Guide Horse teams enter the public we hope to be able to collect more data on this lack of discrimination against horses.