International Society for Equitation Science

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International Society for Equitation Science

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ISES runs international conferences that serve as platforms where latest research findings and their application in practice can be communicated and discussed.

Become a member and join the movement in enhancing equitation science and horse-rider relationships

Students get free membership in 2026

https://www.equitationscience.com/membership ISES also provides a pool of expertise for international bodies and academic institutions that approach ISES with questions related to horse behaviour, training and welfare.

22/10/2026

What difference does bedding depth make to horse rest?

While several studies have examined how bedding materials affect lying-down behaviour in stabled horses, the role of bedding comfort in shaping resting and lying behaviours remains poorly understood.

This study investigated how the depth of peat bedding influences sleep- and rest-related behaviours in individually stabled horses.

The researchers studied 16 healthy riding horses, each kept in their own stable. Every horse spent 21 days on each of two peat bedding depths, 5 cm and 15 cm, so they could be compared with themselves.

Horses were filmed every night from 4pm to 6am. The researchers analysed how often horses rolled and lay down, and how long they spent in different lying postures. The analyses also took into account the horse’s height and their behaviour before the study.

Deeper bedding was associated with longer and more frequent lying down. Horses spent about twice as long lying down on 15 cm bedding as on 5 cm bedding (70.9 vs. 35.6 minutes per night).

They also lay down more often (1.9 vs. 0.8 times per night). The effect depended on posture. Deeper bedding increased time spent resting on the chest with legs folded underneath (sternal lying), but not time spent lying flat on the side (lateral lying).

How horses held their neck while lying down stayed largely the same. Horses also rolled more often on deeper bedding.

Lying behaviour also varied between the two study periods, suggesting that factors other than bedding depth played a role.

The authors conclude that deeper peat bedding in individually stabled horses increases lying down and sleep- and rest-related behaviours, and also encourages comfort-related behaviours such as rolling.

Bedding depth is therefore an important environmental factor influencing equine resting behaviour.

Limitations: The study involved 16 horses, two depths of one bedding type, and night-time recordings only, and lying behaviour also changed between study periods, so the results may not apply to other bedding materials, depths or housing systems.

You can read this paper here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016815912600287X

22/10/2026

🔔 TOMORROW: What does it mean to be a horse?

What does it really mean to understand the world from a horse’s perspective?

Join internationally recognised ethologist Dr Marthe Kiley-Worthington for an exploration of equine sentience, subjectivity and what it means to recognise horses as individuals with their own experiences and perspectives.

The webinar will critically examine how we assess equine welfare and why improving horses’ lives requires us to look beyond traditional approaches to training, management and competition.

📅 Tomorrow, 23 October 2026
🕓 4:00 pm BST
💻 Online webinar

🔗 Register now: https://www.equitationscience.com/webinars

22/10/2026

ISES MEMBERS: Your next 2 webinars are coming up!

Student membership is free for 2026, giving you access to student member benefits and webinars. Join today: https://www.equitationscience.com/membership

Applying the 3Rs in Equine Research: Ethics, Welfare and Experimental Design
📅 24 November | 2 pm GMT

How can we conduct robust equine research while prioritising horse welfare?

Join Dr Léna Levison, large-animal veterinarian and animal welfare scientist at the University of Guelph, Canada, for a student webinar exploring the ethical principles underpinning responsible animal research.

Topics will include:
• Applying the 3Rs: Replacement, Reduction and Refinement
• Integrating animal welfare into research planning and experimental design
• Balancing scientific validity with horse welfare and minimising harm
• Explore the universal principles of ethical animal use and their application to equine research internationally.

Members register here: https://www.equitationscience.com/student-webinars

22/10/2026

ISES MEMBERS: Your next 2 webinars are coming up!

Student membership is free for 2026, giving you access to student member benefits and webinars. Join today: https://www.equitationscience.com/membership

Communication to Industry Stakeholders: Communicating Equine Research Clearly to Non-Academic Audiences
📅 3 November | 9 pm GMT

How do we turn equine research into meaningful change for horses?

Join Dr Cathrynne “Cath” Henshall, equine scientist and Junior Vice President of ISES, to explore how researchers can bridge the gap between academia and the equestrian industry.

Topics will include:
• Translating scientific evidence into practical applications
• Communicating effectively with horse owners, trainers, veterinarians and policymakers
• Balancing scientific accuracy with accessibility and impact
• Increasing the reach and influence of equine research
• Discover how to make your research count beyond the academic world.

Not an ISES student member yet? Join today for free student membership for 2026!

Members register here: https://www.equitationscience.com/student-webinars

21/10/2026

What does “natural” really mean for horses?

Appeals to what is natural for horses are commonly used in horse welfare discussion, information and education. However, little attention has been paid to how equestrians engage with ideas of nature to make ethical sense of horse-keeping practices.

This study analysed open-text responses from an online survey of Australian horse owners. The survey was conducted immediately prior to a competition ban on trimming horses’ sensory facial hair (the whiskers around the muzzle and eyes). This provided an opportunity to examine how some equestrians made sense of what is natural for horses and how that applied to the horses in their care.

Analysis of two open-ended survey questions identified three themes. They were expressed as “sensemaking frames”: shared ways of interpreting a situation and justifying a position on it.

One frame treated nature as the benchmark for what is best, with horses kept as natural as possible (“nature should guide how we keep our horses”).

Another reasoned that horses in managed environments such as stables, especially competition horses, have less need for what facial hair provides in the wild (“domestic horses don’t live in the wild”).

A third held that human management, such as fly veils, ear bonnets or safe, cleared environments, could replace the benefits of facial hair (“we can substitute for nature”).

The frames reflected different ways of interpreting the relevance of nature and natural conditions to domesticated horses. This suggests that appeals to what is ‘natural’ may be interpreted in different and potentially unpredictable ways. As an alternative, the authors consider how contemporary animal welfare concepts might be translated into more effective horse welfare information and education.

These concepts centre on positive experiences (such as comfort, pleasure and interest), choice and control. Further research is needed to develop and evaluate welfare messages and behaviour-change interventions that address specific horse-keeping practices and resonate with everyday equestrians.

The limitations of this survey are that it was not designed to study ideas of nature, so the findings show the kinds of reasoning used, not how common they are. Respondents were self-selected (96% women, 56% from South Australia), and participation may have been influenced by the upcoming ban.

You can read this paper here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159126002868

20/10/2026

📊 20 years of equitation science: how far have we come?

From learning theory and reinforcement to horse welfare, pain and social licence, how have our research priorities changed over the past two decades?

Analysing 1,029 peer-reviewed abstracts from ISES conference proceedings (2005–2025), this poster explores the trends that have shaped our field and what they tell us about the future of equitation science.

Explore the poster and discover how the conversation has evolved.

You can download the poster on the 2027 conference page or via our news page: https://www.equitationscience.com/news

13/10/2026

What does it mean to be a horse?

Join internationally recognised ethologist Dr Marthe Kiley-Worthington for an exploration of equine sentience, subjectivity and what it means to understand horses as individuals with their own experiences and perspectives.

The webinar will critically examine how we assess equine welfare and why improving horses’ lives requires us to look beyond traditional approaches to training, management and competition.

📅 23 October 2026
🕓 4:00 pm BST
💻 Online webinar

Register here: https://www.equitationscience.com/webinars

11/10/2026

Two new podcast episodes and two big questions about our relationship with horses.

Our latest double release explores these questions from two different perspectives:

- Understanding Our Bond with Horses: Love, Work and Everything in Between
Explore the science of human–horse attachment and how our relationships with horses influence everything from daily care to difficult veterinary decisions.

- If Horse Welfare Comes First, Where Do We Draw the Line on Pressure?
Drawing on Cristina Wilkins’ ISES 2025 keynote, this episode challenges us to think critically about pressure, equipment and what horse welfare looks like in practice.

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or our website!

02/10/2026

🇵🇹 Save the date: ISES Conference 2027, Lisbon, Portugal!

The International Society for Equitation Science Conference 2027 will take place 14-16 July 2027 in Lisbon, Portugal.

Under the theme “Tradition in Transition: Science Guiding Equestrian Future”, the conference will bring together researchers, students and equestrian practitioners to explore how science can inform equestrian practice, alongside Portugal’s equestrian heritage and Lusitano traditions.

📅 14–16 July 2027
📍 Lisbon, Portugal

Further information about the scientific programme, abstract submissions and registration will be available in 2027 and can be found here: https://www.equitationscience.com/2027-conference

Interested in sponsorship opportunities? Contact [email protected].

We look forward to seeing you in Portugal!

Address

Hartpury University
Derby
GL193BE

Website

http://www.equitationscience.com/

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