06/05/2026

Some stories tell the story of IHP's work better than any report could. Foxy's story is one of them.

Foxy was born in 1991. He arrived at the IHP Center for EIA-positive horses in San Miniato on June 4, 2009: his positive test for Equine Infectious Anemia had been confirmed while he was living at a riding stable in Rome, where he had spent several years. In the two months between the test and his transfer to the Center, Alessia had faced intense pressure — from the owners of the other horses at the stable and from the local health authority — to have Foxy put down. He was, in the words of those pushing for euthanasia, a "dangerous" horse. In reality, he was — and still is — a perfectly healthy horse: neither before nor after the EIA test has he ever developed the disease, nor has he ever transmitted the virus to other equines.

Alessia did not give in to that pressure. In IHP's willingness to take him in, and with the health authority's approval, she found a way to bring Foxy to a place where he could live with dignity and safety. Since then, she has contributed to the costs IHP bears for his daily care.

The birthday, the apples, the train

On May 5, 2026, Foxy turned thirty-five. Anna Vannucchi, a member of the IHP staff who cares for him and the other EIA-positive horses at the San Miniato Center every day, went to pick Alessia up at the train station and brought her to the Center for the celebration.

As last year, as every year: sliced apples, "Happy Birthday" sung with warmth, a few photos and videos. A little party, as Anna calls it. But a little party that says something important.

Alessia has bought a house and has land of her own. Technically, she could take Foxy back home with her. She won't. "It would be a selfish act," she said. "He's been here so many years, with his herd. Bringing him home would be better for me, but not for him. It would cause him suffering, because his family is here."

What Foxy proves

Foxy is the oldest horse currently hosted by IHP. Thirty-five years is an age many horses never reach — not because longevity is biologically impossible, but because living conditions often don't allow for it. The fact that an EIA-positive horse reaches this age in good health proves at least two things.

The first: that Equine Infectious Anemia does not pose a danger significant enough to justify the containment and isolation measures adopted at the European level. The actual development of the disease is extremely rare, and almost all equines that test positive are asymptomatic carriers who neither fall ill nor can transmit the virus to others. EIA-positive horses can live long, healthy lives just like any other horse. IHP has been saying this for years, and it is living proof: an entire herd of EIA-positive horses in perfect health at the San Miniato Center.

The second: that good management — proper nutrition, veterinary care, respect for ethological needs, the freedom to live in a herd — makes an enormous difference to the quality and length of an animal's life. It is not luck. It is care.

The story of Foxy and Alessia tells us something else as well: that it is possible to love an animal to the point of putting its wellbeing above one's own desire to keep it close. This is the kind of awareness that IHP strives to foster every day. And Foxy — thirty-five years old and still in excellent shape — is its most eloquent testament.

VIDEO: Foxy’s story
What is equine infectious anaemia: stories of horses saved by IHP

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