Stella

Stella is a sweet Appaloosa mare born in 1994: she was the dream of a young girl who had looked after her in her early years.

In 2007, due to uveitis, she had become progressively blind. Her desperate plea for help, to prevent her from living a life of darkness and loneliness, was answered by the Flaminia da Filicaja Foundation, which soon after founded IHP. Stella arrived that same year, finding in the elderly pony Miranda a wise and very patient guide.

After some time, Stella bonded with the mare Luna: a strong relationship that lasted for years, interrupted only by the latter's death, as she was old and sick.

Thanks to long and careful work, we managed to find her a wonderful new companion: Calippo, a horse who was also a longtime fixture at the IHP Recovery Center. Calippo and Stella were a perfect match: the pair best known and most beloved by volunteers and visitors. They lived with Libero, Nina, Garrapata, Azzurra, and Grifo (also blind), who had more recently been joined by the pony Gin Tonic.

After a few years, Calippo also left us suddenly, in July 2023. Disoriented for days, Stella ultimately chose to stay with Grifo's group, despite not having a reference guide like Calippo did. We undertook a new, long and difficult process of reconnecting, fortunately successful, integrating Stella with the others.

In her long life, Stella faced and overcame many challenges, becoming one of our symbols.