Attaching shoes to the feet of foals is often a daunting task. The very reasons for shoeing often require extensions that are difficult to maintain on any age horse, while the complication of a foal's long limbs, lack of training and limited hoof capsule for attachment can make for an extremely trying experience.

Back in the late 1980s, Pat Reilly thought there were veterinary clinics in his future. He was right — but a fork in his career path took him there by a different route than the one he’d originally planned.

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.