With the 13th International Equitation Science Conference rapidly approaching, the orchestra is tuning and the players are rehearsing their lines.

This year’s theme of “Collaboration, Communication, and Change” is amply represented by the range and breadth of papers and studies which will be presented Nov. 22-25 at Charles Sturt University at Wagga Wagga, in New South Wales, Australia. Following a traditional Indigenous Australian welcome to country, delegates will be treated to a range of research presentations exploring welfare, communication, and collaboration and what that means in terms of change for the future.

Many of the presentations will pave the way for ground-breaking equitation science developments. Of particular note is the development of an equine ethogram, a descriptive catalogue of equine behaviors which, once defined and accepted, could facilitate better research, enhance clarity and, ultimately, provide a reliable framework in which to study and measure equine behaviors. In a similar vein, the opening plenary will describe the importance of recognizing and reading equine body language, and its importance in the day-to-day interactions between horses and humans.

The power of collaboration is represented by a case study in which clinicians from many different fields collaborated with the aim of reducing the injury rates of both, horses and jockeys, in Thoroughbred racing

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