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That's how I'm going to set up my horse property when I'm older, Shelby thought. She'd have some different things as well – a couple of stables and an indoor arena, which Clint didn't have. She'd need a breeding stall like she saw at Cheryl's. And she would grow her own hay too. She wasn't sure ten acres was going to be enough. Perhaps fifty acres would do – backing onto State Forest. She would build her house right in the middle, on a hill, so she could see horses out of every window.

When they arrived at Lydia's place Lee was standing with his arms folded and a scowl, but Shelby was confident that Clint would able to convince him that he knew what he was doing.

Clint walked around Chance. He bent down, feeling the gelding's hooves. He looked at his watch. Chance was watching him closely out of the corner of his eye.

'What's he doing?' Lydia asked.

'He's taking Chance's digital pulse,' Shelby explained. 'The heat in the hoof and the pulse rate helps him figure out how much pain and inflammation Chance has.'

Then Clint lifted each hoof, pressing the sole and sniffing it. Each time Clint put the hoof down again, Chance would lick his lips.

'Now he's checking for thrush,' Shelby told her. 'If it smells bad it means his frogs aren't healthy.'

Clint brushed his hands together. 'He's definitely foundered in all four. I can do a trim to make him a bit more comfortable, but I'd like to see some X-rays. You need the trim to correct the bones, not to make the hoof look pretty.'

'How much is that going to be?' Lee asked.

Clint scratched his head. 'I'm not going to lie to you, Lee. You're not going to get out of this whole business for less than a few thousand dollars.'

Lee's lips were a thin line. 'A few thousand dollars? And that all goes to you, does it?'

'Some of it will go to me. He'll need trims every two weeks to start with, and then once every four weeks or so. But I like to see foundered horses get some chiropractic and massage as well. You see, they stand on such funny angles to avoid the pain that they pull tendons, and put their joints out of alignment. I'd like to see him in boots too. He'll probably abscess.'

Lee was staring at Chance so intently Shelby thought his eyes were going to burn a hole in the poor pony.

'I can teach you to trim him yourself. That would save you some money,' Clint suggested. 'But I'd like to see his hooves properly balanced before you took over completely. You can use my tools to start with but then you'll need to buy your own.'

'How long is this going to take?' Lydia asked.

'The hoof wall generally takes a year to grow out from the coronet band down to the sole. If you're really diligent with your soaks and your walking, you might be able to have him sound in less.'

'A year? I had no idea it would take so long,' Lydia said.

Shelby watched the three of them. This consultation wasn't going as well as she had hoped. It was like Clint had said; Lydia and her father wanted the quick fix.

'You're going to need regular visits from the vet too, because you'll want to medicate for the pain, at least initially.'

'Bute?' asked Shelby.

'It's a balancing act with bute. You don't want him to think he's better, and go running around like a goose and make the separation worse. At the same time you want to encourage movement for circulation. You don't want to give them any medications that are vasoconstrictors. Some people say they've had good results with cinnamon, although I believe it works better in other species. You could try it. It wouldn't do any harm.'

'Cinnamon?' Lee asked, incredulously.

'That's right,' Clint answered. 'Do you have any styrofoam? If you cut out some pads around the size of his feet you can duct-tape them on. It will provide some support to the bottom of his feet.'

'I think we've got an old fruitbox in the back of the laundry cupboard,' Lydia said. She raced back to the house.

When she came back the three of them watched while Clint trimmed the pony. He took a long time, letting