The 6th Conference of the International Society for Equitation Science will be held at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). The dates for this increasing popular annual event are 31st July - 2nd August 2010. SLU is home to Sweden's centre for research into animal husbandry and animal welfare and their equine research is considered to be of a high standard.

The primary aim of ISES Sweden 2010 is to stimulate debate about the interdisciplinary approach of learning, training and education to improve horse welfare and human safety. Furthermore, participants will gain insight into Swedish education and research related to equitation science. It is expected to be a meeting of many horse professionals; to include equitation scientists, industry leaders, policy makers and riders and coaches that will engage in discussing the issues brought to the floor.

Some of the issues that will be debated can be seen below:-
•Human-horse interaction, i.e. matching horse and human, measuring humans' signals and horses' responses and vice versa
•Biomechanics and physiology of the horse and its importance for understanding and improving training methods
•Breed and genetic differences in relation to equitation, i.e. the horses' predispositions for different disciplines, and personal ability
•The use of gadgets in horse training
•Education of trainers, instructors and coaches, i.e. didactics and how learning outcomes can be measured
•The jungle of terminology - how can we improve communication within and between disciplines and cultures
•Safety aspects in equitation
•Welfare aspects of horses in different disciplines, i.e. tools to assess welfare parameters such as distress, pain, fatigue, recovery, and conflict behaviours

To find out further information and keep up to date with what is happening then click on this link: ISES Sweden 2010.