The Effect of Claw Trimming on Lameness and Pressure Distribution under the Bovine Foot During Walk

To prevent lameness in cattle good claw health is essential, however housing cows on hard floors for long periods contributes to abnormal claw wear and growth, causing harmful pressure concentrations. Thus regular claw trimming is necessary both to maintain good claw performance, i.e. proper weight bearing, and to treat existing claw disorders. On standing cows trimming the hind feet increases the load on medial claws, decreases the load on lateral claws, increases the contact area and lowers the average pressure (van der Tol et al., 2004). However, trimming increases the pressures towards the medial sole in walking cows. Moreover, in walking cows the load is equally divided between medial and lateral claws on the forelimbs, whereas the lateral hind claws carry 75% of the load (van der Tol et al., 2004). This study aimed to assess the effect of claw trimming on the load distribution under the feet of walking dairy cows where the feet are divided into four quadrants. The hypotheses were tested ...