By Kloosterman, P., Cattle Practice, 2004
Description
In the late 1960's lameness in dairy cows was an increasing problem in the Netherlands. The cows were mainly of the Dutch Friesian breed at that time. Toussaint Raven, Professor at the Veterinary University Utrecht, investigated the lameness problem and the trimming techniques of several hoof trimmers. At that time housing changes were made from tie-stall to cubicle housing. Weight bearing of the claws was measured on ordinary scales and weight shifting in a standing animal was measured. Lameness occurred mainly in the hind legs and then mostly in the lateral claw. With measuring the weight bearing the lateral claw is taking 55 - 80 % of the weight with a visible height difference between the bulb of the medial and lateral claw. By trimming the height difference regular lameness decreased and sole ulcers appeared less frequently. Cows walking much of their time on a flat and hard surface showed reasonable flat claws. Trimming the soles of the claws flat stabilised the weight bearing tremendously. By sectioning the claws of Dutch Friesian cows the length of the dorsal wall was found to be around 7 cm. Cutting the claws perpendicular to the sole and leaving a 0.5 cm cutting edge, left the sole thickness of 5-7 mm, which was measured on normal developed claws. For teaching the new developed method, the Practical Training Centre (PTC) was an ideal school to teach farmers, vets and professional hoof trimmers. Holstein-Friesian cows are taller than the Dutch Friesian cows, so in 1980 the length of a claws changed to 7.5 cm (average sized cow).
In the late 1960's lameness in dairy cows was an increasing problem in the Netherlands. The cows were mainly of the Dutch Friesian breed at that time. Toussaint Raven, Professor at the Veterinary University Utrecht, investigated the lameness problem and the trimming techniques of several hoof trimmers. At that time housing changes were made from tie-stall to cubicle housing. Weight bearing of the claws was measured on ordinary scales and weight shifting in a standing animal was measured. Lameness occurred mainly in the hind legs and then mostly in the lateral claw. With measuring the weight bearing the lateral claw is taking 55 - 80 % of the weight with a visible height difference between the bulb of the medial and lateral claw. By trimming the height difference regular lameness decreased and sole ulcers appeared less frequently. Cows walking much of their time on a flat and hard surface showed reasonable flat claws. Trimming the soles of the claws flat stabilised the weight bearing tremendously. By sectioning the claws of Dutch Friesian cows the length of the dorsal wall was found to be around 7 cm. Cutting the claws perpendicular to the sole and leaving a 0.5 cm cutting edge, left the sole thickness of 5-7 mm, which was measured on normal developed claws. For teaching the new developed method, the Practical Training Centre (PTC) was an ideal school to teach farmers, vets and professional hoof trimmers. Holstein-Friesian cows are taller than the Dutch Friesian cows, so in 1980 the length of a claws changed to 7.5 cm (average sized cow).
We welcome and encourage discussion of our linked research papers. Registered users can post their comments here. New users' comments are moderated, so please allow a while for them to be published.