I have not been in the area long. My experience with the local vets has not been very positive. They seem very expensive and not very knowledgable. There is probably a lot I don't understand about being a large animal vet so I should reserve judgement. Now I have a horse with an on again off again lameness. I don't want to have a vet out-- pay 70+ dollars for a farm visit-- plus any exams and x-rays, and have them tell me they don't know what is wrong. The last time I went through this, the vet told me to put shoes on a horse. There was no explantation as to what was wrong with the horse's feet, just "put shoes on because horses go better in shoes". Why would I put a horse who is standing in the field in shoes to make it not lame? I know all about barefoot horses and abscesses, hard dry ground etc. I guess what I am looking for is a referral to a vet who does real diagnosis, who is good at pinpointing and treating the real problem and not just making guesses at the most probable cause. I am thinking about going to Spurlocks in VA. I know they are very thorough. I would not go so far if there was someone closer. Thanks in advance for your response.