Evaluation of a Dutch Claw Health Scoring System in Dairy Cattle

To determine the optimal moment for claw-trimming of dairy cows, a scoring system was developed by the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Utrecht University, The Netherlands: the leg score. The leg score is a three-point scoring system, based on the external rotation of the hind feet relative to the spinal column. By calculating the percentages of leg score 1 to 3 per herd, herd claw health is summarized in a single variable. Per scoring event and dependent on the cut-off values used in practice, the advice is given to have the herd claw trimmed or not. Although the leg score is widely used in practice, there has not been a quantitative evaluation of its repeatability and its reproducibility. The study was performed as a first step towards evaluation of this diagnostic tool. To assess the repeatability, the score was performed twice with a scoring-scale and twice without such scoring scale by 11 observers on 52 cows in a dairy herd and kappa values were calculated....