Food Animal Conformation and Foot Disease

Is lameness more prevalent in beef or dairy cattle?

Dairy

Name THREE of the six factors that affect bovine lameness.

Environment, nutrition, hygiene, genetics, use/management, hoof maintenance

What are the common terms for base-wide vs base-narrow stance?

Base-wide: cow hocked

Base-narrow: bow-legged

Which claw carries 60% of the weight in the hind limb and often will get bigger due to this?

Lateral

What issues might a post-legged bull experience?

Longevity of mounting (improper flexing of hind limb)

A post-legged cow puts more pressure than normal on the —-.

Toe

What might be a sequelae of sickle hock?

More pressure on heel -> shorter heel/erosions/etc.

Give an example of a bad front limb conformation.

Bull with wide chest -> toes point out laterally

How many digits per foot are there?

Two lmao

What is the hoof made of?

Keratin/horn

What is the softest part of the hoof?

White line

T/F: Axial is towards the center and abaxial is towards the outside.

True!

What should the dorsal wall to heel ratio be in the fore claws vs the hind claws?

Fore- 2:1

Hind- 2:0.75

What are the TWO main strategies for trimming hooves and which is more prominent in beef vs dairy?

1. Cut the toe and make connecting cut to shift toe forward (allows you to see sole depth) -> dairy

2. Make cut all the way forward from the back -> beef

What are TWO reasons beef are trimmed this way?

1. Uniformity harder in beef

2. Avoid cutting into white line to introduce bacteria

Claws should be the same length as measured from the ————- to the —————-.

Coronary band

Weight-bearing surface

Screw calf usually affects the (fore/hind) feet, but can affect all four.

Hind

T/F: Screw claw affects all breeds and is noticed most often in cattle less than 3 years.

False! Screw claw affects all breeds and is noticed most often in cattle MORE than 3 years.

What is the prevalence of screw claw in cattle?

3-4%

What are TWO major causes of screw claw?

1. Inherited

2. Malalignment of phalanx (P3)

What are FIVE sequelae of screw claw?

1. Exostosis

2. Ankylosis of coffin joint

3. Sole hemorrhage

4. White line disease

5. Sole ulcers

What is the treatment for screw claw?

No cure- manage by routine corrective trimming

What should a cow with screw claw NEVER be used for?

Breeding

What condition can occur secondary to chronic laminitis?

Slipper claw

What is the major clinical sign of chronic laminitis?

What is this most often due to?

Poor quality hoof horn

Damage to vascular supply or excess carbs

T/F: You should always take into account the entire animal, especially from a distance (muscle atrophy, etc.)

True!

Why would a bull stand with both front feet extremely close together and toed out?

Remove weight from medial claws

What is another name for exudate at the medial coronary band?

Gravel

What rule should be taken into account when watching a cow walk?

Front and rear legs should track in a straight line

What is the major difference between supporting limb and swinging limb lameness when observing a cow at a walk?

Supporting: lesion in the claw/lower limb

Swinging: lesion in proximal limb (joints)

90% of lameness cases originate from the —-.

Claw

T/F: Corrective hoof trimming can be performed using a hydraulic table or on-farm sedation, but the limb must always be tied for stability and safety.

True!

What are THREE features you should ALWAYS do when performing a corrective hoof trim?

1. Perform corrective trim on all four legs

2. Hoof test all digits

3. Check interdigital space for lesions (often source of lameness)

What are the THREE major infectious diseases of the digits?

1. Interdigital dermatitis (slurry heel)

2. Interdigital phlegmon (foot rot)

3. Papillomatous digital dermatitis (hairy heel wart)

What is the MILDEST foot disease that features inflammation of interdigital and heel dermis, where lameness is only in advanced cases and may lead to heel erosions?

Interdigital dermatitis (slurry heel)

Slurry heel is mainly in —- cattle and is associated with ————-.

Dairy

Poor hygiene

What is the major bacterial etiology of slurry heel that invades dermal layers and allows other bacteria to access?

Dichelobacter nodosus

T/F: Slurry heel affects the heel first because it is softer, but will undermine the toes over time.

True!

What are FOUR ways to treat/prevent slurry heel?

1. Oxytetracycline powder

2. Antiseptics (chlorohex, iodine, copper sulfate)

3. Improved hygiene

4. Routine footbaths

————- is a severe necrotic infection from a break in —— skin.

Foot rot

Interdigital

What are TWO other names for foot rot?

1. Bovine interdigital necrobacillosis

2. Interdigital phlegmon

What bacterial etiology causes foot rot that also can cause liver abscesses and lymphadenitis in cattle?

Fusobacterium necrophorum

T/F: Fusobacterium necrophorum is a contagious bacteria.

False! Fusobacterium necrophorum is NOT a contagious bacteria and requires other risk factors (damage to mucosa/skin) to acquire.

What are THREE other potential causes of foot rot?

1. Maceration of interdigital skin

2. Porphyromonas levii (Prevotella melaninogenica)

3. Bacteroides nodosus

Swollen ——- are another common finding with foot rot.

Coronary bands

Foot rot is —- but may be a herd problem. It accounts for —-% of lameness in dairy cattle and yearly incidence of —-%.

Sporadic

5-15%

What are FOUR host/environmental factors of foot rot?

1. Wet conditions

2. Alkaline soils

3. Abrasive grounds

4. High stocking density

Is bos taurus or bos indicus more likely to get foot rot?

Bos taurus

What are the FIVE major clinical signs of foot rot?

1. Sudden severe lameness

2. Fever/drop in milk production

3. Swelling coronet/skin (spreading of claws)

4. Fissure in interdigital cleft (necrosis; odor)

5. Spread of infection to tendon sheath/coffin joint (super foot rot)

Untreated cases of foot rot persist for —- and may predispose to formation of ———.

Weeks

Interdigital fibroma

What FOUR parental antibiotics can be used to treat foot rot?

1. Oxytetracycline

2. Ceftiofur

3. Florfenicol

4. Tulathromycin

What are TWO major local therapies for foot rot?

1. Debridement

2. Disinfecting/antimicrobial dressing

What are FOUR ways to prevent foot rot?

1. Decrease risk factors

2. Foot baths

3. Feed antimicrobials

4. Vaccination (maybe)

T/F: Foot rot is NOT contagious, but it is infectious.

True!