(17 July 2012)

Italian Horse Protection signed its first agreement with a foreign school – the high school Österportsgymnasiet in Ystad, Sweden— for the execution of training periods in its rescue centre for mistreated horses in Montaione (Florence), which currently is the only recognized centre of this kind by the Health Ministry according to the law 189/2004.

Last year, IHP hosted for a few weeks four Österportsgymnasiet students for a period as volunteers. The more than positive experience convinced the Swedish school to seal an official collaboration, thanks to which two other students have been recently hosted by IHP as trainees, taking part to the natural management and care of the numerous equines housed by the association. Several of these animals, we wish to remind, come from judiciary sequestrations due to mistreatment.

The agreement with Österportsgymnasiet follows the ones made with the Universities of Pisa, Parma and Milan to allow to the students to spend a training period at IHP centre, working in contact with equines living free.

It reinforces IHP’s work in the educational field, fundamental to promote the knowledge and thus the respect of the equine needs, too often ignored in favour of the economical interests connected to the use of these animals.