Hoof Care

Seeing the future of lameness management

mnelson@specialtysalesllc.com — Mon, 13 Oct 2025 00:00:00 -0400

I see a future where lameness rates are lower than ever before, and cows have a longer, more productive and profitable lifespan. I believe there is a day in the not-too-distant future when cows move to and from the parlor with little to no lameness.

Detection, prevention and treatment of lameness

alvaro@dellait.com — Thu, 08 May 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Spring often brings heavy rains and melting snow, especially in regions of the Northern Hemisphere, creating humid conditions that can significantly increase the risk of lameness in dairy cows. Maintaining hoof health through regular trimming and the use of footbaths is essential. Noninvasive tools like 3D camera systems have also transformed how producers detect and respond early to these health issues.

Busting footbath myths

joey@specialtysalesllc.com — Mon, 21 Apr 2025 00:00:00 -0400

As I’ve talked to producers, almost everyone can experience improvements – even those who were satisfied with their trim losses and health outcomes. Surprisingly, the protocol offering these results has been around for decades: the humble footbath.

Tips from an expert: How to improve hoof health on your dairy

matti@agproud.com — Tue, 28 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0500

In a recent Progressive Dairy Podcast episode, Jamie Sullivan of Rippleview Hoofcare addressed some misconceptions surrounding hoof care, gave his thoughts on where hoof health priorities should lie and challenged the dairy industry to reframe thinking around lameness.

Address lameness while the trimmer is away

lerickson@zinpro.com — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

It is important to provide excellent hoof care to cows because lame cows can go from bad to worse quickly. If a lame cow has to wait to be treated, she can experience longer recovery time, and more necrotic tissue and permanent damage to her pedal bone.

Stay ahead of lameness: A practical checklist for early detection before it costs you money

anejati@cgmilling.com — Thu, 26 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0400

A streamlined method of visual scoring, which can be performed quickly, consistently and accurately by farm personnel, continues to play a crucial role in managing lameness in dairy herds.

Healthy hooves lead to a productive life

gwheeler@diamondv.com — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 00:00:00 -0400

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.

Lameness prevention starts with you

omendivil@zinpro.com — Thu, 25 Jul 2024 00:00:00 -0400

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.

Efficient handling space to reduce lameness in robotic milking facilities

antti.puuri@4dbarn.com — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 00:00:00 -0400

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.

On-farm training to treat lame cows: Identifying lameness on the modern dairy farm

lerickson@zinpro.com — Tue, 04 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0400

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?

Control digital dermatitis with a cow-sensitive approach

jenn@agproud.com — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0400

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.

Identifying lameness can be part of everyone’s job description

roger.olson@zinpro.com — Thu, 14 Dec 2023 16:22:12 -0500

We can all agree that a lame cow takes advantage of valuable time and money. When a cow becomes lame, additional internal inflammation occurs – diverting energy away from reproductive success and milk output.

Crowdsourcing quick, cost-effective lameness detection

Thu, 02 Nov 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Recent research conducted by University of British Columbia’s Dairy Education and Research Centre has produced a method of low-cost lameness detection that can be conducted faster than conventional locomotion scoring.

Navigating the runways of lameness: An integrated approach to cow health through advanced data analysis

nial.oboyle@cattleeye.com — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Imagine being at the helm of a bustling airport, managing the incessant comings and goings of countless flights each day.

Breaking the 'become lame and stay lame' mentality

kburgi@savecows.com — Fri, 21 Jul 2023 09:32:31 -0400

The latest data shows between 2% and 54% of dairy cows worldwide can be lame in a given year.

A complete nutrition program to prevent hoof problems

jweyers@zinpro.com — Wed, 05 Jul 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Digital dermatitis, an infectious hoof disease, and non-infectious hoof challenges, like white-line disease, thin soles and sole ulcers, are common occurrences across dairies that often go undetected until it is too late.

Consider heifer housing to reduce the risk of corkscrew claws

eruzic@zinpro.com — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 00:00:00 -0400

In heifer and milking barns, more dairy cows are developing the hoof abnormality known as corkscrew claws, which increases lameness, shortens the productive life span of cows and decreases operational profitability.

Take a team approach to improve lameness management

ewynands@acerconsult.ca — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Due to the significant negative impact on cow welfare and the complexity of the issue, multiple farm advisers are often involved in lameness management.

How WCROC’s farm combatted lameness in a grazing herd

hein0106@umn.edu — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 08:45:50 -0400

Lameness is one of the costliest disorders of dairy cattle, even in a grazing dairy herd. Yet, many grazing dairy cattle are not part of a routine hoof trimming schedule.

Beyond the stall: How partial outdoor access affects gait and hoof health of movement-restricted cows

elsa.vasseur@mcgill.com — Thu, 06 Apr 2023 00:00:00 -0400

The dairy industry's reliance on indoor housing systems that restrict animal movement has raised concerns about animal welfare. Although many dairy farms in Canada still rely on facilities that restrict animal movement without providing pasture access, studies have shown that cows benefit greatly from spending time outdoors.

Designing concrete floors for dairy facilities to reduce lameness incidences

david.kammel@4dbarn.com — Fri, 17 Mar 2023 16:45:43 -0400

Lameness can affect anywhere between 8% to 55% of dairy cows worldwide. The contributing causes of lameness are poor cow comfort, long standing time, heat stress, poor stockmanship and poor flooring.

3 Open Minutes with Albert Cousineau

jenn@agproud.com — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 00:00:00 -0500

Albert Cousineau recently set down the hoof knives and grinders after an impressive 42 years in business. As of Jan. 1, and nearly 200,000 cows later, Cousineau retired as one of Ontario’s staple hoof trimmers and sold the business to his son, Joël.

Research on environmental, genetic components of lameness shows promise

zoey.tucker@go.tarleton.edu — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 07:51:21 -0500

For some time now, producers have known that lameness causes major loss in the dairy industry, including both economic injury and a decline in animal health and well-being.

What have we learned after 20 years of research into footbaths?

laura.solano@wisc.edu — Wed, 05 Oct 2022 09:56:00 -0400

We have been discussing the optimum use, management and design of footbaths for about 20 years, but what evidence do we have that footbaths are effective in controlling digital dermatitis (DD)?

The risk of chronic hairy heel wart reservoirs and how to prevent them

dopfer@wisc.edu — Wed, 05 Oct 2022 09:47:17 -0400

Digital dermatitis (DD) affects more than 95% of cattle in husbandry systems under compromised hygienic conditions and with high cattle density.

Three D's to tackling lameness on the dairy

lerickson@zinpro.com — Wed, 05 Oct 2022 09:36:47 -0400

There are no shortcuts for reducing the lameness rates on dairy farms. It takes a lot of hard work and cooperation from the dairy farm team, but it is well worth the effort to reach the goal of 1%-2% lameness on the dairy.

Do not tolerate lame cows on the dairy

jenn@agproud.com — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 18:10:09 -0400

At any given time, 25% of dairy cows in the U.S. are lame, and more than that experience lameness at some point throughout their lactation, according to Dr. Jennifer Walker, DVM.

Hoof structural integrity, formation and the importance of hard alpha-keratin

kayla.pecora@dairylane.ca — Sat, 07 May 2022 13:00:01 -0400

Nothing good can be built on a faulty foundation. On a cow, that foundation is its hooves. Therefore, it’s time to look at what the foundation is comprised of and how the foundation is built. We are still talking cows and hooves, though, right?

How one dairy herd recovered from a hairy wart problem

midwesternhoofcare@gmail.com — Tue, 19 Apr 2022 13:00:01 -0400

The last few years have been trying for everyone in the dairy industry, and dairy farmers are no exception to that. As a hoof trimmer of 18 years, I have been on hundreds of dairy farms worldwide and continue to be amazed by the levels of digital dermatitis (DD) I still see when visiting farms.

Footbath design: Is yours getting the job done?

chip@agrocheminc.com — Fri, 25 Feb 2022 20:56:03 -0500

Footbath protocols are vital to ensuring hoof health in your herd. Over the years, dairy producers across the globe have adapted their operations to have footbaths on the farm to help ward off infectious hoof disease such as digital dermatitis.