The Equine Science Society (ESS) is pleased to announce the Call for Abstracts for the 27th ESS Symposium, which will be held virtually June 1-4. The 2021 ESS Symposium will consist of oral and poster presentations, student competition presentations, plenary sessions with internationally renowned speakers, and small group discussions. (Find coverage from the most recent ESS Symposium here.)

Members of ESS are encouraged to submit original research, teaching, and extension abstracts for oral or poster presentation. Program sections will include exercise science, equine biosciences, genetics, nutrition, production and management, reproductive physiology, and teaching and extension.

The ESS encourages students to author and present and will once again offer competition sections for undergraduate and graduate students at the 2021 ESS Symposium. Only one competition abstract is permitted per student, but students are welcome to submit additional abstracts to noncompetition sections. Competition abstracts should be prepared and submitted similarly to regular session abstracts. Qualified students will receive a reduced registration fee.

The society still intends to hold an awards ceremony. Guidelines for undergraduate and graduate student competitions, including eligibility requirements, will soon be available on the ESS website.

Instructions for abstract preparation and electronic submission will also soon be available on the ESS website. The deadline for abstract submission is Friday, February 12, at 11:59 p.m. CST. Accepted abstracts will be published in the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science.

Abstracts accepted for oral presentation will need to be prerecorded and submitted prior to the symposium. The ESS intends to hold a live Q & A session following each presentation. Individuals with abstracts accepted for poster presentation must submit the posters as PDFs prior the symposium, together with a short, prerecorded summary presentation.  The organization will send guidelines for oral and poster presentation submission to the authors of accepted abstracts and post them on the ESS website.

Additionally, the ESS Board of Directors and the nominating committee are making a call for nominations for the election of board members and officers prior to the 2021 symposium. They will request additional nominations during the general business meeting held virtually during the Symposium. Details of the responsibilities of board members and officers can be found in the ESS Constitution. Please send nominations to Karen Davison, chair of the Nominating Committee  at KEDavison@landolakes.com. Furthermore, please consider nominating deserving individuals for the various society awards to be presented at the ESS Symposium. Kathy Anderson, awards committee chair, will later make a call for award nominations. You can find a description of each award and a list of past awardees on the ESS website.

The Equine Science Society invites all scientists, educators, and industry representatives working with horses and other equids to participate in this symposium, and hopes the virtual format will enable individuals, both in the U.S. and abroad, who have previously not attended to take part.