Analysis of cattle foot lesions recorded at trimming in the Southwest of England
Analysis of cattle foot lesions recorded at trimming in the Southwest of England
Open access
In our edition of: Jun 2025
In our categories of: farm animals
our summary:
Britten, N. et al. (2025) Analysis of cattle foot lesions recorded at trimming in the Southwest of England. Animals, 15 (6), 829.
The aim of this study was to assess the relative prevalence of foot lesions in both beef and dairy cattle based on foot inspection records.
The study analysed the trimming records of 23 professional foot trimmers working for a veterinary practice in Southwest England between 2018-2023. The records contained date, farm, identifying number of the animal, foot trimmed, and lesions identified together with their location (medial or lateral claw). On all the farms cows identified as lame were selected for foot inspection regardless of production status, other routine foot inspections were carried out at defined points in the production cycle. Inspections that resulted in treatment of an identified lesion were classified as a ‘therapeutic trim’, where no lesion was identified this was classified as a ‘foot inspection’. Lesions were rated as mild, moderate, severe or requiring vet advice based on the opinion of the trimmer. Records of therapeutic trims contained lesion(s) type, information on repeat presentation including time between re-presentations, and how frequently lesions were consecutively observed on the same foot.
A total of 795,252 foot inspection records from 346 farms (250 dairy farms and 96 beef farms) were available for analysis. There were 97,944 therapeutic trim records of which 96% (94,190) were from dairy animals, and the remaining 4% (3,754) from beef animals.
The most recorded lesions were digital dermatitis (31.97%), white line disease (21.45%), sole ulcer (19.22%) and sole haemorrhage (12.82%). Most lesions were in hind feet (80.8%), and there was a small but significant increase in the odds of a foot with a lesion being a right foot. Sole haemorrhage was identified significantly more on the medial claw in fore feet and on the lateral claw in hind feet. White line disease had the greatest percentage of lesions evaluated as severe or requiring veterinary advice. This lesion also had the highest recurrence rate (most refractory to treatment). In beef cattle digital dermatitis made up a higher percentage of lesions when compared to dairy cattle, in dairy cattle sole ulcers and sole haemorrhage made up a greater percentage of lesions when compared to beef cattle.
Limitations of the study include the relatively small number of beef farms, potential recording errors, and that the reason the animal was presented for inspection was not recorded. The fact that the foot trimmers all worked for the same organisation, that the farms were all in the same geographical location and that only farms that undertake claw trimming were included in the study means that the results may not be generalisable to other settings.
This study provides a useful update on the prevalence of foot lesions in dairy and beef cattle. The data will assist in the introduction of focused measures targeting the most common lesions through the introduction of on farm protocols. The authors suggest that future efforts at preventing lameness focus on digital dermatitis and white line disease as the most common lesions.
The following may also be of interest:
inFOCUS: Invited review: Prevalence, risk factors, treatment, and barriers to best practice adoption for lameness and injuries in dairy cattle [RCVS Knowledge] [online] Available from: https://infocus.rcvsknowledge.org/invited-review-prevalence-risk-factors-treatment-and-barriers-to-best-practice-adoption-for-lameness-and-injuries-in-dairy-cattle/ [Accessed 20 June 2025]
inFOCUS: A prospective cohort study examining the association of claw anatomy and sole temperature with the development of claw horn disruption lesions in dairy cattle [RCVS Knowledge] [online] Available from: https://infocus.rcvsknowledge.org/a-prospective-cohort-study-examining-the-association-of-claw-anatomy-and-sole-temperature-with-the-development-of-claw-horn-disruption-lesions-in-dairy-cattle/ [Accessed 20 June 2025]
inFOCUS: Sensitivity and specificity of mobility scoring for the detection of foot lesions in pasture based Irish dairy cows [RCVS Knowledge] [online] Available from: https://infocus.rcvsknowledge.org/sensitivity-and-specificity-of-mobility-scoring-for-the-detection-of-foot-lesions-in-pasture-based-irish-dairy-cows/ [Accessed 20 June 2025]
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