Hosted by EKU every two years, the Living with Horses conference, convened and chaired by Dr. Gala Argent and Dr. Jeannette Vaught, is scheduled in conjunction with the Living with Animals Conference. The event takes place on EKU’s Richmond campus, located in Richmond, Kentucky, just south of Lexington, “The Horse Capital of the World.”
Keynote Speaker
We are very excited to announce that this year’s conference features a Keynote Address by environmental historian Sandra Swart, author of Riding High: Horses, Humans and History in South Africa (2010) and The Lion’s Historian: Africa’s Animal Past (2023).
Call for Papers and Abstracts
The Living with Horses conference takes an inclusive, multidisciplinary human-animal studies approach. We seek presentation proposals from scholars, researchers, and practitioners who analyze equine and human-equine relationships from within the natural and social sciences, humanities, arts, and applied fields in order to craft a program that represents a wide diversity of topics in human-equine studies.
The theme of the 2027 conferences is “Negotiation.” This theme invites broad-reaching conversations that foreground the give-and-take of human-animal relationships, considering both the concessions and the gains at stake in being in relation with the nonhuman world. Living with Horses invites prospective participants to engage with this theme as it manifests within and across human and equine worlds. Some preliminary questions raised by the theme of negotiation follow as food for thought. As usual, proposals from outside of the theme are also welcomed.
In addition, and in honor of our late friend, researcher, and wild horse advocate Karen Dalke, the 2027 Living with Horses conference invites submissions to the ongoing “Karen Dalke Memorial Session on Wild and Feral Horses,” with topics covering any aspect of current wild or feral horse research, representation, cultural heritage, and conservation.
Presentation Formats
The Living with Horses organizers are especially interested in receiving proposals for full sessions and encourage session proposals that bring together multiple individuals who approach a particular topic from various scholarly or practical positions. Full session proposals can be in traditional, roundtable, or other interactive formats. Likewise, individuals can propose conventional, creative, or interactive presentations, including poster presentations.
The 2027 Living with Horses conference will take place for the first time in a fully integrated, hybrid format. While we strongly encourage participants to attend the conference on-site at EKU, we understand this is not possible for many prospective presenters. Therefore, we are offering virtual presentation options. All presenters, whether virtual or on site, individual or part of a session, will be required to pay the conference registration fee. For full-session proposals, we require at least one member of the team to attend the on-site conference. All on-site Living with Horses participants are encouraged to attend the sessions, amenities, and gatherings included in the concurrent Living with Animals conference.
Submission Requirements
To submit a proposal, please follow these guidelines:
For Full Sessions
For Individual Presentations
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: December 15, 2026
Please address questions about Living with Horses to Gala Argent, gala@me.com, and Jeannette Vaught, jvaught@calstatela.edu. Questions about the broader Living with Animals conference or submission process should be sent to livingwithanimals@eku.edu.