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?

There is a growing understanding that lame cows, once identified, should be treated as soon as possible. This can be difficult when producers rely on hoof trimmers, which may not be available on short notice.

About 12 people meet at Mountain View Dairy in Delta, Utah, twice a year. Their goal? To trim the hooves of the farm’s 3,000 dairy cows. The hoof trimmers have participated in this bi-annual working vacation since 2003, and they have seen many herd health benefits.