The 9th International Conference of Equine Exercise Physiology (ICEEP) was held in June 2014 in Chester, UK. A variety of interesting studies in the area of applied physiology, muscle physiology and genetics were presented and the abstracts published in a supplementary issue of Equine Veterinary Journal (Equine Vet J 46. suppl 46). A selection of these studies are summarised below, highlighting their clinical relevance.