Hello, I'm Dr Lizzie McCready
As a vet, I'm on a mission to help as many animals as possible live a life of health and vitality. I'm passionate about continually developing my own skillset and sharing my veterinary expertise with the equestrian community. Positively impacting horses far and wide, beyond those I treat face-to-face. I love empowering the everyday horse owner with the practical skills and horse-health knowledge to feel confident in giving their horse the care they deserve.
My Story
Horses have been a part of my life ever since I was a little girl. Growing up in the world of Pony Club, my weekends were spent at competitions and in-the-thick of the daily routine of caring for the horses. From an early age I had set in my mind that I was going to grow up to become a vet.
Fast-track 25 years and here we are! In 2016 I graduated from The Royal Veterinary College (London) with Honours and delved straight into equine practice.
During my initial years in clinical practice, I worked at an esteemed equine hospital (Bell Equine Veterinary Clinic in Kent) alongside world-class specialists. Here I developed special interests in medical cases, colic, lameness and integrative therapies.
After my time in the hospital I worked as an ambulatory vet in the UK, before moving to Melbourne, Australia in 2018 to work as an equine vet in the Yarra Valley.
With a deep desire to offer comprehensive and integrative care for my patients, I undertook a graduate certificate in Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine & Acupuncture (IVAS, 2020-2022) to complement my clinical practice. Alongside working in an equine clinic and educating online, I treat horses with acupuncture (Qi Veterinary Services) for various conditions.
Unfortunately, at the start of 2021, just like many vets I reached the point of physical burnout. This occurred during the pandemic and left me with months of reflection time while I recovered from spinal surgery to fix a herniated disc.
During this time I had a thought... instead of trying to help as many horses as I can by running around all day every day - what if I started handing down what I have learnt as a vet to the wider horse community?
Expanding my impact far beyond just the horses I can physically see in person.
While experiencing first hand how often emergencies occur as a vet, I had also noticed a distinct lack of preparedness from the vast majority of horse owners. Looking back to my pre-vet years, I could remember the heart-break that colic, laminitis, wounds and emergency c-sections caused the horses in our family and us as a result.
With my years of training and experience, I now know there's a better way of preparing ourselves to reduce the pain and trauma emergencies can bring.
I set upon a mission to start providing quality education to horse owners and other equine professionals, empowering them with practical tools and information to help them care for their horses during an emergency.
This was when Empowering Equine Education and my signature course, the Equine Emergency Response Training were born.
Since then I have reached over 4,000 horse owners, run online courses and in-person workshops, spoken at EQUITANA and featured on multiple podcasts.
I'm happy to say that I now combine my work in the education space with time in clinical veterinary practice. Treating the horses I can visit locally, while also benefiting the lives of those I impact through the education of their wonderful owners.
I believe through education we can advance the standard of care horses receive worldwide, experience greater fulfilment as horse owners and help support the veterinary industry.
I hope to be welcoming you into my empowered community of horse owners soon!
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