My experience at the IHP rescue centre lasted only two weeks, in June. I arrived on Sunday evening and immediately found myself sleeping in the house with a stranger, coming from Milan. I am a very outgoing person and I immediately started trying to make friends or at least have a chat with her. 'Tomorrow wake up at 5.45am' she told me...and I was shocked: not even to go to school I wake up so early! The next day we got up, got ready and the staff picked us up in the car. When we arrived at the centre I was drowned in information: how to tie the poles, the amount of food for each horse, which horses to look out for the most (like Romina) ...in short I was lost, I didn't know how I was going to remember everything but Sonny reassured me by telling me that in time I would learn, and indeed I did. The first few days were really tiring: I remember coming home and even before eating I was asleep. Being away from home also became more and more present because, objectively, it was a routine I was not used to (like all first-time volunteers). After a week everything had changed, by then I had got used to getting up early, working hard and sweating, and I had grown fond of the horses, all with their own peculiarities: Romina, with all the attention she needed, Pioggia, who was threatening even if she didn't bite, Calippo and Stella, the Centre's most famous couple along with Conan and Julia and Starlight and Giulia... and finally Pedro, who always steals a few cuddles during the routine. In short, despite all the things to remember, the tiredness and the constant attention in doing things (which I don't have) it was a truly formative experience both on a personal level, because it allowed me to get to know lifestyles different from my everyday life and allowed me to get out of my comfort zone, and on the level of knowledge of equines: in fact I learnt how horses' senses develop and their personal interactions.