We’re excited to have Dr. Sheryl King return to the 2021 Summit and offer what will surely be a compelling keynote address: “Deconstructing Dogma”

King has authored many scientific research publications as well as general horse articles and has spoken on horse management topics on five continents. She is a professor emeritus at Southern Illinois University.

She encourages attendees and other horse enthusiasts to submit questions on practices or beliefs regarding horse management practices. Send us an email here.

Dr. King presents on tick-borne disease at the 2019 BHP Summit

King writes:

Dogma: a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true.

What informs your decisions and management practices for your horses? For most of us, knowledge is passed down from our mentors and previous generations of horsemen. For many more, questions are posed, and answers suggested on internet chat groups and social media posts. But is the information accurate? Is it good for your horse? Is it proven by controlled scientific study? Does it even pass the most basic ‘makes sense’ test?

Some beliefs about horses become so universally accepted and adopted that they become dogma; the “everyone knows this is true” type of knowledge that forms a foundational belief that we never question. We will examine some of the dogmas and myths of horse husbandry and explore how to go about questioning and seeking informed answers.

If you have a question about a practice or belief regarding horse management practices, submit it for consideration in our BestHorsePractices Summit presentation.

King is the past president of the Horsemen’s Council of Illinois and was the founder and program director of the Equine Science Program Director at Southern Illinois University. Dr. King was elected a Fellow of the Equine Science Society in 2009, an Associate in the Fifty Year Horse Society, an SIU Outstanding Scholar and Faculty Service Award recipient.