The theme of the conference ‘Advancing equestrian practice to improve equine quality of life’ is one that should resonate with all who breed, produce, train and ride horses for pleasure or sport. Ensuring that we know what a good quality of life is for a horse, and that we have the knowledge and tools to be able to assess quality of life, is a central objective for much of the work that will be presented over the three days of the conference. The conference subthemes have been chosen because they elegantly illustrate how an evidence-based approach needs to be applied in practice to improve horse performance, rider experience and safety and most importantly equine welfare. In addition, the importance of effective communication to enhance the impact of research, and the use of effective educational approaches for supporting human behaviour change will be explored.

Nat Waran, Jane Williams and Hayley Randle, and the team of scientific reviewers.