Building on the One Health Initiative idea that “humans, animals, plants, and the environment are inextricably linked, with the health of one affecting the health of all,” this presentation focuses on the history of veterinary medicine and equine health. Equine health affected all aspects of nineteenth-century society and culture in ways that are important to remember today. Nineteenth-century equine epidemics devastated economies around the globe, reminding us that horses were the primary energy source until the advent of the automobile in the twentieth century. Professor Henry will draw on literary representations of farriers and vets and then focus on the practice of equine “tail docking” from the eighteenth to the early twentieth century. Tail docking was controversial in Britain and the US even as it was widely practiced. It raises larger questions about medical complicity in cruelty, animal rights legislation and national identity (since the practice was much more limited in Europe).

This event is part of One Health + Humanities Days, a three-day series of events showcasing the Critical role that arts and humanities play in understanding and exploring sustainability and global wellbeing, including human, animal, plan, and environmental health. Events will take place October 25-27, 2023, on and around the UT Knoxville campus.