European Workshop on Equine Nutrition
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to attend an equine nutrition conference?
At the beginning of July, I was lucky enough to be able to attend the European Workshop on Equine Nutrition (EWEN), which this year was held in the stunning Gamle Logen building in Oslo, Norway. EWEN takes place every two years and includes a wide range of presentations on various topics and the latest research surrounding equine nutrition.
When I arrived at the conference venue, I checked in and picked up my name tag and conference bag which contained a notepad, pen, info from the sponsors and a USB with the digital conference proceedings. We then quickly got started with a pre-conference meeting with researchers from several different universities as well as feed company nutritionists and industry representatives.
After the meeting, there was a welcome reception and the opportunity to view the conference posters for the first time. Conference posters are basically visual summaries of research projects, usually in A1 size, and include images, diagrams, graphs and tables alongside the text to illustrate the methods and results of the study. When someone applies to present their work at a conference, there is often the option to choose whether they would like to submit for an oral presentation or for a poster – the choice here will normally depend on the nature of the project. The posters are displayed throughout the conference, and there are opportunities to speak to the authors about their work during the breaks. This year at EWEN, the posters covered a wide variety of topics, ranging from a study into horse owners’ perceptions of ryegrass, through to research on different in vitro techniques of measuring feed digestibility. The welcome reception and poster viewing session also provided an opportunity to meet and catch up with friends and industry colleagues as well as getting to meet lots of new people too.
Day two opened bright and early with a fantastic keynote presentation from Janne Winther Christensen on the behavioural biology of horses with a focus on foraging. Janne highlighted the need to provide horses with a variety of forage types to improve welfare, since horses will naturally choose to forage on a wide range of different feed materials even when grass is in abundance. A variety of forage types can also provide enrichment and create a positive experience for the horse, which is so relevant when it comes to promoting good welfare. This was followed by shorter presentations on some of the latest research, as well as a further keynote from Shannon Pratt Phillips on a North American perspective on equine nutrition. It was fascinating to hear about how the horse feed industry differs in the United States and Canada compared to in the UK and Europe.
Following a delicious lunch and the afternoon’s presentations, the day concluded and we had a free evening in Oslo, during which I enjoyed meeting up with friends I’d not seen since the last EWEN and then going for dinner at the SALT street food venue on the waterfront with some other feed company nutritionists and suppliers. Despite what horse owners may think, many feed companies actually have very good relationships with one another, and it’s always lovely to catch up at these types of events!
Me at the Vigeland Sculpture Park – this is home to over 200 sculptures all by the same artist
Day three consisted of a morning of presentations, including a keynote from Manfred Coenen on the horse’s energy requirements, followed by a cultural tour around Oslo. My tour group enjoyed a coach trip out to the Vigeland Sculpture Park and up to the Holmenkollen ski jump, which hosted the Winter Olympics in 1952. The afternoon was followed by a delicious gala dinner in the evening at a local restaurant overlooking the harbour.
At the Holmenkollen ski jump – looking slightly unusual with no snow to be seen in the July sunshine!
The final day of the conference was held just out of town at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), about 30 minutes away on the coach. In the morning session, we enjoyed keynote presentations from Marcus Clauss and Michael Weishaupt, followed by some workshops in rotation in the afternoon. We were in smaller groups for the workshops, which allowed more time for discussion and questions. The first workshop I attended was on gastric ulcers and was hosted by Nanna Luthersson and Pat Harris. They discussed the current knowledge on gastric ulcers, including the benefits of alfalfa, and also reiterated the importance of getting a horse gastroscoped if ulcers are suspected. This allows for identification of the type of ulcers present (ESGD or EGGD), which will then guide treatment and management decisions. They finished up by talking about the BETA feed approval mark for horses prone to gastric ulcers. This is a scheme we have in the UK to help horse owners identify suitable products, but there is not yet an equivalent in other European countries.
The second workshop I attended was on forage and was led by Cecilia Müller who is an associate professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) and has a wealth of knowledge on all things forage! She spoke about some of the research projects she is currently undertaking looking at forages and legumes, including some recently published work on different grass species and their digestibility and non-structural carbohydrate content. In the second half of the workshop, we went outside and had a tour round the forage plots at NMBU. These are rectangular plots of different types of legumes and grasses which are grown and harvested under relatively consistentconditions to allow for more representative comparisons. Despite the pouring rain, it was great to have the opportunity to go out and see the research facilities in person.
Some of the forage plots at NMBU
After getting the coach back to central Oslo, the conference officially drew to a close. I feel very privileged to have been able to attend EWEN again; it is always a fantastic experience and I always come away feeling very inspired! It’s so important that we keep up to date with the latest research and developments so that we can continue to provide the best advice we can to our customers.
I’d like to end this blog post with a big thank you to Rasmus Bovbjerg Jensen and the rest of the EWEN organising committee for once again putting on such a brilliant conference – we are looking forward to the 2026 meeting in Portugal!
