This is an excerpt from the chapter entitled “Lucky” from the book Equine ER, coming out in August by Eclipse Press.

The trailer pulled up to Barn 9 after a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Louisa, a town in eastern Kentucky. The referring vet had called ahead: A foal, a family pet roughly six weeks old, had been mauled by a stallion. It was touch and go. His owners were desperate to save him. Dr. Alexandra Tracey, a new intern at Rood & Riddle, was waiting at the barn for the trailer. She assumed the colt would be on the floor when they opened up the door.

The door opened and a snack-size chestnut Tennessee Walker was standing without a problem, docilely nursing from his mother, Rose. It was Lucky É again