animal health consulting

Christine King  BVSc, MANZCVS (equine), MVetClinStud

Here are some of my past and current publications on animal health, written for owners, trainers, farm/stable managers, and other caretakers. Like me, it's a rather ecclectic mix. I'll be adding to it as time permits.

You are welcome to download, print, and share any of these articles with your friends and family. But if you want to publish them in any way, such as in a newsletter, a magazine, or online, please contact me for permission, as I have a couple of conditions. (BTW, many of these articles were written for American horse magazines, so please forgive the American spelling...)

I'm in the process of updating my website. Please bear with me while I complete this process. The articles with this notation colour are not yet uploaded. I'm working on it, so please check back in the next day or two...

New

Precautions against ivermectin horse paste to prevent or treat COVID-19 in people  web page

Back care

Care of the horse's back  PDF

Saddle fit basics — fit and placement from the horse's perspective  PDF

Training the young horse — balancing short-term gains and long-range goals  PDF

Breeding

"To breed or not to breed" — making responsible breeding decisions  PDF

Food and digestive health

Adaptogens and EGUS (equine gastric ulcer syndrome)  [web page]

Beware of cereal hays and chaffs — be careful with oaten, wheaten and barley hay/chaff  [web page]

Don't guess; test! — results of my pasture mineral analysis  [web page]

Forage analysis — why test your hay and pasture?  [web page]

Preventing colic in horses  PDF (available for purchase)

'Through the looking-glass' — a bug's-eye view of the equine gut and what it can tell us about feeding horses [book in process]  [web page]

Why do horses eat dirt?  PDF

Hoof care

The Tao of hoof care — thoughts on the shoes vs. barefoot debate  PDF

Internal parasites (worms)

Faecal egg counts — why do FECs?  [web page]

Vaccination and infectious diseases

Hendra antibody tests — guidelines for vets, farm managers, and event organisers  slide show

Hendra: why not just go ahead and vaccinate?  web page

Ivermectin and the Hendra virus — lessons from COVID-19  web page

Thoughts on equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1)  PDF

Vaccination  PDF

Miscellaneous horse health topics

Equine Cushing's disease and belonging  web page

Integrative veterinary care — the best of both worlds  PDF

Making do — keeping horses healthy in an imperfect environment  PDF

What does "wellness" mean?  PDF

'White crows' — studying health to understand disease  PDF

Why do we get sick in the winter months?  PDF

Other animals & scattered thoughts...

Adaptogens and the senior dog — on optimizing health and longevity  PDF

Adaptogens and the working dog — on performance, injury, and career longevity  PDF

Case report: fresh comfrey leaf dressing for an open fracture in a goat kid  slide show

Case study: complex trace mineral deficiency in a herd of goats  slide show

Humanosis: keeping therapy dogs safe at work  slide show

"I like animals better than people"  web page

Pollyanna and the art of seeing the whole picture  web page

Stories: Miss Lilly plays fetch  web page

Stories: Miss Lilly takes her time  web page

Stories: quantum entanglement in the shower  web page

The highly sensitive dog  web page