Is it me...?

Is it me? I had an email yesterday about a former rehab horse, who had just been seen by his vet for re-assessment.

The horse had been doing well and improving steadily and the vet agreed that his movement was the best he'd seen BUT a few days ago the horse became footy on stony ground. When you know he was enjoying ample turnout, this graph of the recent laminitis risk in the area where he lives gives a clue as to the cause...

Guess what? The huge red spikes in risk profile exactly correspond to when he became footy.

However, the vet, in his infinite wisdom, thought the probable cause of the footiness was working on hard ground - despite the fact that the horse has been working on hard ground for 5 months or more with no increase in footiness. 

So his solution - given that he thinks that the mechanical impact of hard ground has been the problem - is a nice set of metal shoes (well known, naturally, for their fabulous concussion-reducing qualities) and  24/7 turnout on a large, lush field...

Is it any wonder that owners, and me, sometimes wish to give it all up and just keep hamsters instead?