Hoof Pathologies Influence Kinematic Measures of Dairy Cow Gait

To explore how hoof pathologies affect the gait of dairy cattle, we studied gait profiles of cows with no visible injuries (n = 17), sole lesions (n = 14), and sole ulcers (n = 7). Video recordings of dairy cows were digitized using motion analysis software to calculate 6 stride variables for each h...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of dairy science 2005-09, Vol.88 (9), p.3166-3173
Main Authors: Flower, F. C, Sanderson, D. J, Weary, D. M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal productions
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Biomechanical Phenomena
Cattle
Cattle Diseases - physiopathology
dairy cow
Food industries
foot diseases
Foot Diseases - physiopathology
Foot Diseases - veterinary
Foot Ulcer - physiopathology
Foot Ulcer - veterinary
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gait
Hoof and Claw
hoof pathology
hooves
kinematics
lameness
Lameness, Animal - physiopathology
lesions (animal)
Milk and cheese industries. Ice creams
sole ulcers
Terrestrial animal productions
Vertebrates
walking
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Summary:To explore how hoof pathologies affect the gait of dairy cattle, we studied gait profiles of cows with no visible injuries (n = 17), sole lesions (n = 14), and sole ulcers (n = 7). Video recordings of dairy cows were digitized using motion analysis software to calculate 6 stride variables for each hoof. Compared with cows with sole ulcers, healthy cows walked faster (1.11±0.03 vs. 0.90±0.05 m/s, mean±SEM), had shorter stride durations (1.26±0.03 vs. 1.48±0.05s), and longer strides (139.5±2.1 vs. 130.0±3.2cm). Percentage of triple support in the gait cycle (time when cattle were supported by 3 legs) more than doubled for cows with sole ulcers compared with healthy cows (42 vs. 18%). Gait differences were likely due to cows reducing the load on an affected leg. Few differences were detected between healthy cows and those with sole lesions, perhaps because of variation in number, severity, and location of injuries. Kinematic gait analysis is a promising approach in understanding how hoof pathologies affect dairy cow gait.
ISSN:0022-0302
1525-3198
DOI:10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(05)73000-9