At right, Carey Williams, who works closely with the New Jersey 4-H Horse Program, speaks about equine anatomy with members of the “Hearts & Horseshoes” chapter during an Equine Science Center Summer Showcase event at Rutgers.
Carey Williams, extension specialist in the Department of Animal Sciences and associate director of extension at the Rutgers Equine Science Center (ESC), received the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) Award for Equine Nutrition Research on June 6 at the 26th Equine Science Society (ESS) symposium, hosted by North Carolina State University, in Asheville, NC.
The award, presented every other year in combination with the ESS symposium, is intended to help stimulate excellence in equine nutrition research and has been sponsored by AFIA as part of its ongoing awards program since 1948.
Williams joined Rutgers in 2003 as an equine extension specialist and the associate director of extension at ESC. She has played an active role in teaching, conducting research and working with the equine and academic communities to ensure the viability of the horse industry in New Jersey. Williams was instrumental in the creation of the Ryders Lane Environmental Best Management Practices Demonstration Horse Farm, the first of its type in the nation. There, she conducts research to develop best management practices designed to teach horse owners how to manage their horse farm while being an environmental steward of the land.
A herd of Standardbred horses that Williams maintains at Rutgers are the basis of her nutrition, exercise and pasture research that focuses on strategies for decreasing the stress of intense exercise through nutritional modification and antioxidant supplementation, as well as investigating different grazing systems and how they impact horse health and the environment.
She has authored or co-authored more than 40 scientific journal articles in her field of expertise, and has authored eight book chapters on antioxidants, oxidative stress, supplements and pasture management for horses.
Williams received a bachelor’s degree in equine science from Colorado State University, and master’s and doctoral degrees in animal and poultry sciences, with an emphasis on equine nutrition and exercise physiology, from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
