"For 2024, we have chosen the motto ‘Prospects in equine reproductive medicine’ in keeping with the aim of the International Conference on Equine Reproductive Medicine (ICERM) to provide a forum for discussion about perspectives of reproductive medicine in horses", explains Conference Leader Prof Dr Harald Sieme from the Unit for Reproductive Medicine at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover. The 12th ICERM programme offers a total of 19 lectures on andrology, assisted reproductive biotechnologies, and pregnant, non-pregnant and peripartum mares.

Highlights and Prominent Experts

"Highlights will include breeding and sports, endometriosis, endometritis and ovum pick-up (OPU) as well as in vitro embryo production, pregnancy loss and the treatment of pregnant mares", says Professor Sieme. The organisers succeeded in engaging seven highly experienced reproductive veterinarians from Germany and twelve prominent researchers from other countries as speakers. These experts will be travelling from Denmark, Finland, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Switzerland and the USA. The speakers conduct research, teach and work at institutions such as the Justus-Liebig University of Giessen, the Freie Universität Berlin, the Institute of Farm Animal Genetics (ING) of the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI), the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna (Vetmeduni), the Universities of Bern, Utrecht, Lisbon and Helsinki, Colorado State University, Cornell University and the University of Kentucky.

Improving Traditional Treatment Methods

The conference is designed to "reinforce proven treatment methods and provide inspiration on how to improve them as well as presenting new treatment methods", Prof Sieme points out. According to Sieme, the aim is to help equine reproductive medicine remain an attractive field for German horse veterinarians. He emphasises that the event "is intended to highlight veterinarians’ roles and responsibilities regarding both the reproductive efficiency of breeding horses and assisted reproduction technologies such as the current ovum pick-up (OPU) technique and in vitro production (IVP) of embryos".

The 12th ICERM will be held at the Leipziger Messe on 20 January 2024 from 8:25 am to 4:40 pm as part of the Leipzig Veterinary Congress (18 to 20 January 2024). The language of the conference will be English. A total of five sessions will cover the following topics: "The stallion & artificial insemination", "The non-pregnant mare", "Assisted reproductive technologies", "The pregnant mare" and "The pregnant and periparturient mare".

About ICERM

This biennial conference has its roots in the multi-regional research programme entitled "Reproductive Disorders in Horses" at the Institute of Pathology within the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (VMF) of Leipzig University. The programme was established by Prof Dr Heinz-Adolf Schoon between 1993 and 2017. In 1997, Prof Schon worked with Dr Doris Schoon and Prof Dr Erich Klug (†, formerly of the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover) to establish what is now an internationally renowned conference on the topic of equine reproductive medicine. Prominent figures in the fields of pathology and equine reproductive medicine get together at the conference, as do other individuals from all over the world who are interested in this research. Each ICERM is preceded by a scientific, expert workshop with the invited speakers. This creates a regular international link between academic and practical equine reproductive medicine. Prof Sieme from the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover and Prof Dr Reiner Georg Ulrich from the VMF Leipzig are responsible for organising ICERM. As an English-language satellite event of the Leipzig Veterinary Congress, it has become a permanent fixture in the international diary for vets working in equine reproductive medicine