Day One of the ISES 2026 Conference in Billund brought together research exploring the horse from multiple perspectives, from their place in natural ecosystems and the environments we provide, to sleep, movement, pain, social relationships and even the biodiversity living within them.

Here are just some of the highlights from a packed first day.

We began with our Clever Hans presentation, where Professor Jens Christian Svenning explored The nature of horses and horses in nature. Drawing on evolutionary history, ecology and rewilding, he considered horses not simply as domestic animals returned to the wild, but as a re emerging wild species capable of shaping vegetation, biodiversity and future ecosystems.

Professor Janne Winther Christensen followed with research on around 150 feral horses in Danish nature restoration projects. The horses spent approximately 63% of their daytime foraging, while seasonal differences were also seen in affiliative behaviour, reinforcing the importance of varied foraging, movement and social opportunities.

Jennifer Korterink then explored what living alongside wolves means for horses and their caregivers in the Netherlands. Wolf presence influenced everyday decisions around turnout, fencing, supervision and riding routes, while raising wider questions around responsibility and acceptable risk.

Our first plenary, delivered by Cristina Luz Wilkins, introduced the application of the teleonome in equitation science. The presentation challenged us to move beyond asking whether horses are simply coping and instead consider what they are biologically organised to value, seek and respond to.

Dr Susie Catherall Ostler then put language under the spotlight, showing that describing horses using terms such as “naughty” or “stubborn” can influence the responses people choose, including increasing the likelihood of suggesting sedation or positive punishment.

Dr Jo Hockenhull explored “welfare washing”, asking whether changes within equestrianism genuinely improve horses’ lives or simply improve public perception. A proposed framework considers the impact of changes on horses, equestrians and the wider public.

After lunch, sleep became a major theme. Dr Marianne Cockburn presented striking findings showing a long term decline in recumbency after horses were relocated to a new group housing system, despite that system exceeding legal welfare requirements. Michaela Schulz then explored whether dominance and compatibility within established groups affected lying behaviour, finding no clear relationship.

Dr Brad Hill showed how 24 hour computer vision monitoring can reveal what horses are doing when humans are not there to observe them, from identifying abnormal sleep patterns to monitoring responses following vaccination and international travel.

Dr Miriam Baumgartner demonstrated how strongly movement can be shaped by housing design, management and environmental conditions, while Professor Inga Wolframm showed that turnout spaces with greater structural variety can provide horses with more meaningful choices about where to eat, rest and move.

Essi Wallenius explored the relationship between body injuries, use related pain and conflict behaviour during tacking, finding that conflict behaviour became more common as indicators of mouth and back pain increased.

The afternoon then turned to young horses and social relationships. Heli Suomala presented findings on foal weaning practices in Finland, while Dr Maria Diez Leon highlighted the potential welfare impact of early, abrupt weaning on mares. Dr Claire Ricci Bonot followed with work developing a clearer framework for understanding separation anxiety in horses, including the different contexts in which it may occur and the importance of who the horse is being separated from.

Finally, our second plenary, delivered by Professor Martin Krarup Nielsen, took us inside the horse itself.

The internal biodiversity of the horse explored the remarkable diversity of equine parasites and the need to rethink traditional parasite control. With widespread anthelmintic resistance and no new drug classes expected in the foreseeable future, the future may depend on smarter surveillance, better diagnostics, pasture management and a deeper understanding of the relationships between parasites and the wider gut microbiome.