Relationship between Internal Hoof Structures and Sole Lesions in Dairy Heifers

The aim of this project was to investigate the relationships between sole lesions and 1) the depth of soft tissue under the pedal bone and 2) pedal bone angle.

Eighty-nine Holstein-Friesian heifers were allocated to one of four rearing regimes at 7 weeks of age. Heifers were offered one of two levels of concentrate supplementation in conjunction with either straw or silage-based diets (as described by Carson et al., 2004). Heifers were slaughtered at 18 months of age for reasons unrelated to this study.

The lateral claws of the hind right hooves were cut in half in a sagittal plane. Measurements were made of the depth of digital cushion and soft tissues below the pedal bone at 5 points along the length of the bone. Pedal bone angle was calculated by measuring the perpendicular distance between the inner surface of the sole horn and 1) the tip of the pedal bone and 2) the caudal end of the pedal bone. Relationships were investigated using regression analysis ...