Karen Briggs

Karen Briggs is the author of six books, including the recently updated Understanding Equine Nutrition as well as Understanding The Pony, both published by Eclipse Press. She's written a few thousand articles on subjects ranging from guttural pouch infections to how to compost your manure. She is also a Canadian certified riding coach, an equine nutritionist, and works in media relations for the harness racing industry. She lives with her band of off-the-track Thoroughbreds on a farm near Guelph, Ontario, and dabbles in eventing.

Articles by: Karen Briggs

Animal Relief En Route to Myanmar

After weeks of resistance from the military regime which governs Myanmar (a country in southeast Asia formerly known as Burma), animal welfare workers from the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) finally have been given permission to

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Vaccines for Horses: Defending Against Disease

The idea of a vaccine is to get the immune system to mount a response against a pathogenic invader while saving the horse from suffering disease symptoms that at best are uncomfortable and inconvenient, and at worst are fatal.

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Equine Encephalitis:The Ever-Present Threat

Before WNV reached North American shores, there were two other forms of viral encephalitis for horse owners to worry about. Eastern, Western and Venezuelan equine encephalitis are killers, but vaccination can help stave off these neurologic diseases.

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Vitamins for Your Horse

Horses can become vitamin-deficient, and these deficiencies can have devastating effects on their normal functions, but equally dangerous are toxicities from an overdose–a real possibility with some (but not all) of the vitamins.

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Therapeutic Equipment

Before you invest in a therapeutic modality, look not just for testimonials and anecdotal reports, but for hard scientific proof and comparable applications in human medicine. Before using any type of modality on your horse, be sure to discuss

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Product Spotlight: Equine Vacations

A full-color catalogue of exotic destinations where you can gallop a horse through the surf, trot through fields of lavender, or Paso up a mountainside to catch your first glimpse of Macchu Pichu…it’s fantasy-inducing. There’s virtually no horse

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Citizens Push for “Brigadier’s Law”

A deliberate hit-and-run incident that resulted in the death of a Metro Toronto police horse on Feb. 24 has galvanized Canadians to amend the Criminal Code to better protect law enforcement service animals.


After attending Brigadier’s

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Memorial Service for Police Horse Touches Toronto

More than 1,500 people honored the memory of Brigadier, an equine member of the Metro Toronto Police mounted unit who was tragically killed in the line of duty, by attending a special memorial service in downtown Toronto on Monday, March 6.

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Toronto Police Horse Killed On Duty

The city of Toronto is mourning the death of 9-year-old “Brigadier,” a member of the Metro Police Mounted Unit. The horse had both front legs broken in what is being described as the deliberate impact of a minivan on Friday, Feb. 24.

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The Ever-Present Threat

Editor’s Note: This is the fourth in a 12-part series of articles on vaccinations for horses.

West Nile virus (WNV) might be the new kid on the block, the one gaining all the media attention, but unfortunately, it is not the only

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Hoof Boots: Protection Without Permanence

We all need protection from the elements. That goes for your horse’s hooves as well. Millennia ago, when humans first vaulted aboard equine backs and guided them over terrain they probably would not otherwise have traversed, the value of providing protection for hooves became clear–as the leather “hipposandals” and early iron shoes unearthed by archaeologists attest.

These days, of

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Vaccination Essentials: Rabies, Tetanus, and Botulism

Editor’s Note: This is the second in a 12-part series of articles on vaccinations for horses.

Ask veterinarians anywhere in North America and they’ll likely agree: If you vaccinate for nothing else, at the very least vaccinate for tetanus and rabies. The two diseases have much in common. They’re endemic–meaning your horse could be exposed to the causative organisms at any

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Defending Against Disease

Editor’s Note: This is the first installment in a 12-part series of articles on vaccinations of horses.

Of all the medical advances in the past couple of centuries, the one that might be the most remarkable is also the one we’re most likely to take for granted. The simple pinprick of an intramuscular injection taking less than 10 seconds protects our families, our pets,

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With Every Fiber of Their Being

With the recent Athens Olympics as our inspiration, we might all be pondering what it takes to go “faster, higher, and stronger.” Whether you’re a human, a hamster, or a horse, the answer, at least in part, is muscle fibers–each of which holds within it a certain potential for athletic performance.

When muscle fibers work together, they can provide the impetus for explosive forward or

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