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ISES Dublin 2008 - 4th International Equitation Science Conference

Dublin, Ireland. August 2nd – 4th 2008

Conference theme - The horse-human dyad: How can we improve our understanding of equine training, performance and welfare simultaneously?

ISES Dublin 2008 took place in a most appropriate location at the Royal Dublin Society (RDS) – home of the Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show in the heart of Dublin city.  The conference was both timely and appropriate as the horse holds a special place in the social and economic fabric of Irish culture, and Ireland is (per capita) presently the most densely equine populated country in Europe.

Download the Conference Proceedings

ISES Dublin 2008 attracted around 100 per-reviewed scientific abstracts. In total, there were 36 oral presentations and almost 50 posters were on display in the poster room. The conference was attended by more than 260 veterinarians, researchers, industry leaders, students, and horse enthusiasts from around the world.

'The main goal of the Conference was to foster an enhanced understanding of how horses behave and learn, and thereafter to use their natural behaviour to train them, ride or drive them, and compete with them in as competitive but fair a manner as possible.' (J. Murphy)

The editorial board at The Veterinary Journal and Dr Andrew Higgins (Editor) have kindly agreed to support ISES Dublin 2008 in the form of a Special Issue of the The Veterinary Journal, dedicated to equitation science and featuring peer-reviewed papers from the Dublin conference.

Each of the three days commenced with a high profile Plenary Speaker offering educational lectures.

In addition to oral and poster presentations, there were 8 practical session with horses, riders and handlers at various levels of training and competition experience. 

Local Organizing Committee

Chair - Dr Jack Murphy

Ms Karen Hennessy (University College Dublin), Mr Joe Collins (University College Dublin), Mr Pat Hanly (Royal Dublin Society), Ms Fiona Sheridan (Royal Dublin Society), Mr Alastair Sutherland (University of Limerick), Ms Emma Murphy (Trinity College Dublin), Ms Elke Hartmann (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden ).

Scientific Committee

Chair -  Dr Deborah Goodwin, University of Southampton

Dr Jack Murphy (University College Dublin), Dr Andrew McLean (Australian Equine Behaviour Centre), Dr Camie Heleski (Michigan State University), Dr Hayley Randle (Duchy College, University of Plymouth), Prof Patrick Wall (University College Dublin), Prof Natalie Waran (Unitec New Zealand), Prof Paul McGreevy (University of Sydney).

Organising Secretariat - Dr Jack Murphy, School of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland. Tel: 00353 87 2843070, Email: Jack.Murphy@ucd.ie

Credits

The Local Organising Committee and the Scientific Committee of the International Society for Equitation Science sincerely thank the following entities for their generous assistance in ensuring the success of ISES Dublin 2008.