Observations of lameness, hoof conformation and development of lesions in dairy cattle over four lactations

Lameness and lesions in the claws of 31 autumn-calving Holstein Friesian da iry cows were recorded from before their first-calving until their fifth la ctation. The animals were managed by the same herdsman and housed adjacentl y in the same building in one of two herds grazed either on clover-rich pas tures (herd 1) or on conventional ryegrass (herd 2). All four hooves were e xamined routinely four times during each lactation, and claw lesions were s cored for severity and drawn on hoof maps. Heel erosion and infectious skin conditions of the hoof were also recorded, and hoof conformation, hardness , and growth and wear were measured. The animals' locomotion was scored wee kly throughout the winter housing period and any observed to be lame were e xamined to determine the cause. The development of lesions was modelled by using hierarchic smoothing splines. There was no significant effect of herd except on the prevalence of lameness in lactation 2 when the incidence of (inter)digital dermatitis was higher in herd 2. Lesion and locomotion score s were significantly higher by lactation 4 (P<0.05). There were significant effects (P<0.05) of weeks postcalving on lesion formation, claw conformati on, and heel erosion.