After roughly two decades of use on humans, magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI for short, is becoming practical for equine medical care.

Pedal osteitis, an inflammation of the coffin bone usually resulting from severe bruising of the sole or consistent pressure on the bone, often reveals itself through an obvious, crescent-shaped bruise on the bottom of the foot.

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.