Regenerative medicine–approaches that utilize the body’s own ability to heal, including methods such as stem cell therapy–might make the idea of “Horse, heal thyself,” a real possibility. Nearly 300 practicing veterinarians, university researchers, cell biologists, biomedical engineers, veterinary technicians, students, mainstream medical doctors, and orthopedic specialists/surgeons gathered in California’s Santa Ynez Valley for the first North American Veterinary Regenerative Medicine Conference, held March 2010.

Stem cell therapy was one of the regenerative medicine methods discussed at the conference. This meeting and others will help researchers and practitioners network to create consistent study formats and develop goals to for using equine regenerative medicine to treat injuries.