Farriers beware. Avoid diagnosing a horse with navicular disease, a problem that even experienced equine veterinarians using high-technology cannot always determine with absolute certainty.

Be sure to look at the shoes every time you pull them off,” says Blake Brown, a Penryn Calif., farrier who worked at a veterinarian clinic for 20 years.

Ric Redden, equine veterinarian and farrier from Versailles, Ky., told attendees at the annual convention of the American Association of Equine Practitioners in New Orleans in November, that the physical examination is the most important part of evaluating the equine foot.