EFFECTS OF DAILY EXERCISE ON THE HEALTH OF TIED DAIRY-COWS

The effect of daily exercise on tied dairy cows was studied in 65 init ially first and second calvers of the Swedish Red and White dual-purpo se breed in a 4 year experiment, starting in July 1985. Half of the gr oup walked outdoors for 2-3 km day(-1) from May to October and 400-800 m day(-1) from November to April. The rest of the cows were constantl y tied. Health in general was significantly and positively influenced by exercise, reducing the need for veterinary treatments. Analysis ove r time, within lactations, showed that the difference in the number of veterinary treatments occurred entirely in Weeks 0-2 of lactation. Du ring those weeks, non-exercised (NE) cows were more affected by calvin g-related diseases, mastitis and leg problems than the exercised (E) c ows. The difference between groups increased with increasing lactation number. In addition, somatic cell count in the milk was higher for th e NE cows in their first month of lactation. Among feeding-related dis eases, the cases of bloat were notable more frequent among NE cows, wh ereas exercise did not influence the occurrence of clinical or subclin ical ketosis. Cases of non-infectious leg and hoof disorders were also notably more frequent in the NE group, which also showed a significan tly more serious score for skin lesions on the hocks, measured on one occasion. Scores for sole ulcer were significantly higher for the E co ws on one occasion of four, at which there were problems with the surf ace of the exercise area. The causes of exclusions strengthened the di fferences mentioned for treatments.