The team of Dr. Jen Walker, Dr. Gerard Cramer and Jamie Sullivan are using their expertise and experience to educate, train and promote the principles of hoof care, and proper functional and therapeutic trimming techniques for improved animal welfare on farms through the Kinder Hoof Care Academy Trimmer Training.

The welfare of a lame cow is affected in at least three ways: 1) it interferes with natural behaviors such as walking, lying down and interacting with herdmates; 2) it impairs normal function by reducing milk production and reproductive efficiency; and 3) the pain impacts the cow’s affective states of physical and mental well-being. What can we do to manage lameness more effectively and improve the welfare of cows that develop lameness?

By implementing effective management strategies, such as maintaining optimal hygiene, following proper footbath protocols, early detection and treatment, as well as adjusting the diet to support rumen health, dairy producers can minimize the occurrence and severity of digital dermatitis (DD), also known as hairy heel warts. 

I work with farms across the country troubleshooting for potential contributors to lameness prevalence in their herd. Cattle lameness is a challenge that every farm will one day experience. It is better to prevent it through procedures such as scheduled maintenance, hoof trimming and overall herd management practices.

In robotic milking systems, where cows need to move frequently to and from milking robots, lameness can severely disrupt operations. Here are ways to prevent and address lameness in automated milking facilities.

Producers express concerns that restraining cows during hoof trimming might induce both short- and long-term effects on production and behavior.

All lactating cows should be locomotion scored on a weekly basis. This is a great start in identifying cows that could benefit from a trip through the trimming chute. In addition to locomotion scoring, what other techniques can we implement on a daily basis that could help us catch the cows with an early onset of lameness? 

Severely lame cows are easily distinguishable in the herd, even to the untrained eye. The key is to work with the farm team in identifying and addressing lameness early. This may be before the lesion is visible until you pick the foot up in the hoof-trimming chute.

The Hoof Trimmers Association (HTA) holds a Hoof Health Conference every 18 months. To ensure distinct parts of North America are represented, they hold these meetings at various locations. This year's conference was Feb. 22-24 in Orlando, Florida.