Softer, higher-friction flooring improves gait of cows with and without sole ulcers.

We studied dairy cows (n = 30) walking on concrete and on a soft, high-friction composite rubber surface to examine how flooring influenced gait and how this differed for cows with hoof lesions. Cows had hooves trimmed 9 wk after the trial and were classified as either with or without sole ulcers. Video recordings of the cows while walking were digitized using motion analysis software to calculate stride variables (length, height, overlap, duration, proportion of triple support, and speed). Gait was scored by a subjective scoring system (1 = sound to 5 = severely lame) and by a continuous visual analog scale for each of 7 gait attributes. Cows with sole ulcers walking on a composite rubber surface had longer strides (156.9 +/- 2.6 vs. 149.6 +/- 2.6 cm), higher stride heights (9.7 +/- 0.3 vs. 8.8 +/- 0.3 cm), more stride overlap (0.4 +/- 2.0 vs. -4.3 +/- 2.0 cm), shorter periods of triple support (3 legs in ground contact; 68.6 +/- 2.0 vs. 73.8 +/- 2.0%), walked faster (1.22 +/- 0.04 vs. 1.17 +/- 0.04 m/s) and had lower overall gait scores (2.9 +/- 0.1 vs. 3.1 +/- 0.1), better tracking-up (19 +/- 2 vs. 24 +/- 2), better joint flexion (29 +/- 2 vs. 33 +/- 2), more symmetric steps (31 +/- 3 vs. 36 +/- 3), and less reluctance to bear weight on their legs (12 +/- 2 vs. 16 +/- 2) compared with walking on concrete. Similar results were found for cows without sole ulcers. Most of the subjective gait measures could distinguish between cows with and without sole ulcers, but this was not the case for kinematic measures other than stride height. Cows with higher gait scores (more severe lameness) showed the greatest improvement in stride length (r = -0.51), triple support (r = 0.59), swing duration (r = -0.44), overall gait score (r = 0.46), and reluctance to bear weight (r = 0.66) when walking on the rubber surface compared with cows with lower gait scores. These results indicate that rubber flooring provides a more secure footing and is more comfortable to walk on, especially for lame cattle.

[1]  E. Noordhuizen-Stassen,et al.  Risk factors for interdigital dermatitis and heel erosion in dairy cows kept in cubicle houses in The Netherlands. , 2005, Preventive veterinary medicine.

[2]  L. Green,et al.  The impact of clinical lameness on the milk yield of dairy cows. , 2002, Journal of dairy science.

[3]  J. Rushen,et al.  Effects of roughness and compressibility of flooring on cow locomotion. , 2006, Journal of dairy science.

[4]  D. Weary,et al.  Effect of hoof pathologies on subjective assessments of dairy cow gait. , 2006, Journal of dairy science.

[5]  C. Phillips,et al.  The locomotion of dairy cows on floor surfaces with different frictional properties. , 2001, Journal of dairy science.

[6]  F. Manson,et al.  The influence of concentrate amount on locomotion and clinical lameness in dairy cattle , 1988 .

[7]  D J Sanderson,et al.  Effects of milking on dairy cow gait. , 2006, Journal of dairy science.

[8]  C. Risco,et al.  Comparison of the calving-to-conception interval in dairy cows with different degrees of lameness during the prebreeding postpartum period. , 2005, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

[9]  H. Whay,et al.  Associations between locomotion, claw lesions and nociceptive threshold in dairy heifers during the peri-partum period. , 1997, Veterinary journal.

[10]  A. Macrae,et al.  Disposal and disease rates in British dairy herds between April 1998 and March 2002 , 2004, Veterinary Record.

[11]  N. Cook.  Prevalence of lameness among dairy cattle in Wisconsin as a function of housing type and stall surface. , 2003, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

[12]  E. Telezhenko,et al.  Influence of floor type on the locomotion of dairy cows , 2005 .

[13]  F. Manson,et al.  Incidence and prevalence of lameness in dairy cattle , 1996, Veterinary Record.

[14]  L. Garber,et al.  Papillomatous digital dermatitis and associated risk factors in US dairy herds. , 1999, Preventive veterinary medicine.

[15]  D. Weary,et al.  Hoof pathologies influence kinematic measures of dairy cow gait. , 2005, Journal of dairy science.

[16]  D. Sprecher,et al.  A lameness scoring system that uses posture and gait to predict dairy cattle reproductive performance. , 1997, Theriogenology.

[17]  C. Bergsten,et al.  Sole Haemorrhages in Tied Primiparous Cows as an Indicator of Periparturient Laminitis: Effects of Diet, Flooring and Season , 1996, Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica.

[18]  M A Lafortune,et al.  Cushioning properties of footwear during walking: accelerometer and force platform measurements. , 1992, Clinical biomechanics.

[19]  D. Weary,et al.  Hoof discomfort changes how dairy cattle distribute their body weight. , 2006, Journal of dairy science.

[20]  H. Erb,et al.  Effects of alley and stall surfaces on indices of claw and leg health in dairy cattle housed in a free-stall barn. , 2001, Journal of dairy science.