Most probably you will never truly know the nature of horses until you come to the IHP. In how many other places is it possible to get close to horses that are living the lives of... Horses? To see them free, not only in the territorial sense but also from the usage by man, to see them free to live according to their own free will? Horses are without doubt one of the most exploited animals, from horse-riding (as much in riding schools as in the races), the food industry, work, experimentation, the fashion industry... but they were not made for any of these things, and you have the proof of it seeing them free to live the lives for which they were born, free from any kind of exploitation.
I see the IHP as a place where horses come back to (or even begin) to Live, as a place where an independent existence for horses is conceivable, where you can learn and receive so much more from them than would have been possible in other circumstances where they were not free to live naturally. The experience of volunteer work here has benefitted me in many ways: the possibility to see horses coming from difficult situations living undisturbed in paddocks more than suited to their needs, to see how the herd organises itself, how they relate - to each other and to us – based on their past experiences, to see how they become attached to each other and develop a system of mutual support between themselves, to understand how important tiny signals are to them which to us may seem imperceptible, and to understand how sensitive they can be.
In the end, here, you grow! And not only regarding what you can learn with and from the horses, but also on a human level, from the friendships made between volunteers coming from near and far, built on the work done together, the wonderful hours spent together, and the fantastic memories. You live together and discover different traditions and cultures, we compare ourselves and learn from each other, on an equine level and on a human level. I will go back, it’s food for the soul…