No one likes to see the type of injury that Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro suffered at the beginning of the May 20 Preakness Stakes.

I've recently been called to trim a horse and noticed that the hoof on the off-side front has separated from the coronet front by about 3 inches. After pointing out this problem to the owners, they told me that the horse was totally lame about a week prior and it's now sound and putting full weight on the foot. There's no sign of infection, and during trimming the horse shows no signs of discomfort. There's a lot of movement in the separation opening and you can see a sensitive area that appears to be healthy.

THOUGH CO-WRITTEN by three extremely knowledgeable experts in equine podiatry, it is the full-color photography on nearly every page of this book that immediately grabs the reader.

WHEN 18 FARRIERS described how they’d tackle the therapeutic shoeing case described at right, there were a wide variety of answers and prices that ranged from $75 to $750 for the first visit.