Horse welfare and human safety: the importance of learning, training and education is the main theme of the 6th International Equitation Science (ISES) Conference this summer in Sweden.
Equine scientists including veterinarians and ethologists, trainers and other specialists will meet July 31-August 2 in the university city of Uppsala and at the National Equestrian Centre at Strömsholm to discuss training and education of horses and riders, from scientific and practical aspects.
”This is a growing field within equine research and it is exciting to be able to gather so many specialists from all over the world”, said Mari Zetterqvist Blokhuis, president of the ISES 2010 Committee.
While scientific meetings are normally restricted to scientists and students the ISES meeting is also open to the general equestrian public. Regstration closes June 10.
Two of several international authorities invited are Dr Andrew Mc Lean from Australia and Professor Rene van Weeren from The Netherlands. McLean is an prominent equine ethologist who did his doctoral thesis (PhD) on how horses learn, especially in training for equestrian sports.
Professor Van Weeren is one of the leading researchers in the world on equine biomechanics and joints and tendons, including development of young horses.
Dr Andrew Mc Lean runs a large training centre in Australia for horses and riders in both show jumping, dressage eventing and Thoroughbred racing. He has competed up to Advanced level in all the three Olympic disciplines. Dr Mc Lean is one of the conference keynote speakers. The other is Associate professor Lars Roepstorff, from the Swedish College of Agricultural Science, who has a broad interest in training strategies and soundness. Roepstorff and Rene van Weeren are co-workers in an international research project on riding surfaces, training and soundness.
Around 80 abstracts had been received of which 30 will be oral presentations and more than 40 will be presented in the format of posters. Oral and poster presentations reporting recent scientific findings will alternate with a full day of practical demonstrations given at the National Equestrian Centre in Strömsholm. Several presentations and practical sessions during the conference are concerned about the training of young horses. Representatives from the National Stud in Flyinge and Strömsholm will demonstrate their system of training young horses and the stepwise education of riders.
Other practical demonstrations will focus, for example, on the rider’s seat and the application of modern technology to study limb kinematics or detect lameness.