More than 300 equine reproduction specialists from 31 countries convened recently at the University of Kentucky for the 10th International Symposium on Equine Reproduction (ISER). The invitation-only meeting is held every four years; the next one is slated to be held in New Zealand in 2014. “This conference is a must for those who want to stay up-to-date on cutting-edge science in equine reproduction. We had a wonderful blend of students, young scientists, and established researchers,” said Ed Squires, PhD, Dipl. ACT (hon.), chair of the International Equine Reproduction Symposium Committee, the organizing body of the ISER. Squires is also the executive director of the UK Gluck Equine Research Foundation and the director of advancement and industry relations at the Gluck Center.

The first international symposium was held in 1974 in Cambridge, United Kingdom. The purpose of the meeting was to provide a forum for biologists and veterinarians interested in equine reproduction to exchange and argue their views, to review the present state of knowledge of the subject, to produce guidelines for future research, and to foster international friendship and collaboration.

The meeting continues to bring together scientists and veterinarians from around the world and provides a forum for exchange of information on clinical and basic research aspects of equine reproduction. The symposium’s scientific meeting covered experimental or clinical research in four areas: the non-pregnant mare, stallions, conception and early development, and the pregnant mare and perinatology.

The symposium also comprised 164 short communications presented or displayed via poster presentations. Proceedings of the 10th International Symposium on Equine Reproduction were published as extended abstracts in a supplement of the journal Animal Reproduction Science