
animal health consulting
Articles by Dr King

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