Author

Christina Keim is an award-winning narrative journalist, travel writer, author, and editor, with a specialty in equestrian-themed topics. She is a regular contributor to the Chronicle of the Horse, and her work has appeared or is forthcoming in a wide variety of digital and print media, including UnTacked, Northeast Equestrian Life, Horse Network, The Plaid Horse, Tip of the Hat, Equine Journal, Horses Maine and NH, Green Mountain Horse Association Magazine, Woodstock Magazine, Strides, ARIA Instructor and Practical Horseman. She holds an M.Ed. and an M.F.A. from the University of New Hampshire.

Books

Unwanted: the Causes and Effects of America’s Horse Population Crisis by Christina Keim (Trafalgar Square, 2025).

A compassionate, fact-based examination of the incredibly complex and extraordinarily divisive issue of too many horses, not enough homes.

Any horse, but for a change of circumstances, can become unwanted.

The unwanted are racetrack rejects, excess ranch stock, foals that did not live up to their breeder’s expectations. They are aged Amish cart horses, horses with chronic lameness issues, the pony a child outgrew. They are show horses, pleasure horses, the pretty horses and the plain. They come in all colors, sizes, and shapes.

The US equine industry consistently produces more horses each year than the number of appropriate homes, leaving thousands of animals with nowhere to go. Recently, as many as 150,000 of these horses have shipped annually to equine slaughterhouses in Canada, Mexico, and abroad. Others are sold at auction, given away, starved, abused, and abandoned. Just over 1,000 rescues and municipal organizations across the country equipped to handle horses at risk report they are consistently close to or at capacity. Most are stretched to the breaking point when it comes to finances, material resources, and human power.

Horsewoman and journalist Christina Keim, a veteran of the equine industry, believes the unwanted horse crisis urgently needs our collective voice and attention. Solving it, she suggests, requires a sea change in the face of not just fundamental values and beliefs, but also hard economic realities and deeply held cultural attitudes. In her meticulously researched study of this devastatingly real and present problem so many choose to ignore, she travels the country, bringing readers to livestock auctions, rescues, and therapy centers, describing work and life behind the scenes, and the animals who find themselves there. Keim interviews industry experts, including veterinarians, lawmakers, welfare advocates, and shelter workers, and reviews published data to help separate unwanted horse facts from fantasy. She works to dispel common myths and misconceptions surrounding the “slaughter pipeline,” without taking away from the harsh reality horses face once “in it.” And perhaps most importantly, she showcases the work of many dedicated individuals and groups who are collectively helping to carve out a new niche for the horse that both honors his heritage and can help to preserve his future.

Unwanted asks all of us to examine our unconscious and deeply held beliefs about horses, while suggesting ways to better understand how that perspective shapes our opinion about how they—and other non-human animals—should be treated. For there to be hope for a restorative and harmonious solution to the unwanted horse crisis, Keim professes, we must be ready to come to the table well informed, open-minded, and prepared to work for the horse’s best interests, rather than our own.

NOW AVAILABLE! Order your copy HERE.

Equicize: Progressive Mounted Exercises That Improve Cardiovascular and Muscular Fitness for Everyday Riders of All Levels by Sally Batton and Christina Keim (Trafalgar Square, 2024).

Achievable, riding-specific fitness for equestrians looking to up their game, get back in the game, or stay in the game.

In this accessible, highly illustrated guide, former Dartmouth Equestrian Team Coach Sally Batton shares her secret to 30 years of winning riders and championship teams: a unique series of progressive, mounted exercises that improves cardiovascular and muscular fitness for riders of all abilities and levels. Batton’s proven program, which she calls Equicize, can be used as part of a horseback rider’s daily warm-up by targeting specific muscle groups, or it can be a more intense workout in the saddle once or twice a week, making up the bulk of a mounted training session. Easy to learn and flexible by design, riders can pick and choose the Equicize exercises that best address their personal “problem areas,” or they can dedicate a specific number of rides per week to performing an entire sequence. As Batton explains, there are literally hundreds of ways to adjust, modify, and adapt this fun fitness program to suit specific circumstances.

No matter what level of fitness a rider starts at, when the Equicize system is practiced regularly, everyone will see improvement in balance, strength, coordination, and flexibility. And Batton has made it easy to incorporate her training into the modern rider’s full and complex life, with exercises designed to fit seamlessly into time that has already been set aside for grooming, tacking up, and riding. With sensible, achievable goals, easy-to-implement steps, progressive how-to photographs, and dozens of QR codes to scan and view engaging instructional videos to help readers perform the exercises for the best result, this book is both a superb launch point for ambitious riders looking to grow their abilities and a stable lynchpin for those aiming to stay in the game, and in the saddle, as long as possible.

Order your copy HERE.

The Athletic Equestrian: Ride Like a Varsity Athlete by Sally Batton and Christina Keim (Trafalgar Square, 2022).

The Athletic Equestrian, co-written by Sally Batton and me, is now available for purchase! Published by Trafalgar Square Books in North Pomfret, Vermont, you can order your copy now. In this richly illustrated book, we offer tips, techniques, and body awareness exercises designed to help riders at all stages of their career get fitter and more fine-tuned. Learn all about Training Tools, Power Leg, and more!

Ten Piscataqua Writers: an Anthology from the Watershed (Ten Piscataqua, 2022)

I am so grateful and excited to be one of ten regional writers featured in this inaugural anthology of select nonfiction, fiction and poetry produced by authors living within the watershed of the Piscataqua River!

This unique project is being crowdsourced from now through the end of April 2022. As when you join NPR, there are is an array of increasingly cool swag to be had with your contribution, including being listed as a backer or even a copy signed by all ten authors.

Please visit this link to show your support or order your copy today!

A few of Christina’s Articles:

Back From The Brink: Kilkenny Cairo Heals At Her Home On The Range (Chronicle of the Horse)

From Untacked: A Closer Look At Mission Mustang (UnTacked)

From $400 Racetrack Reject To Hampton Classic Tricolor (Chronicle of the Horse)

Amateur Showcase: Amy MacDonald Brings Her Riding Lessons To The Workplace (Chronicle of the Horse)

Somewhere Between Marginal and Sufficient (Horse Network)

The Future of Equestrian Sport (Horse Network)

Saving Bentley: Trying to Rescue the Lost Lesson Horses (The Plaid Horse)

The Horses of London (Wanderlust Journal) September 2020

Sotto Voce (The Plaid Horse) (fiction) October 2020 print issue

Christina’s Recorded Readings: