That’s the opinion of Mark Gerber of Zinpro dairy technical sales, and a master hoof trimmer.

“If that cow doesn’t have a comfortable bed 12 hours a day, we’re going to have problems,” Gerber said. “We really have to focus on cow comfort. Are our stalls set right? Is the bedding right? Are the surfaces? Are we getting maximum yield?”

It’s difficult for producers to accurately identify a cow as lame when locomotion scoring occurs in a busy pen or part of the farm, said Dr. David Kelton, professor emeritus at the Ontario Veterinary College.

Aspects unrelated to lameness can affect the way a cow steps and carries her head and back, he added, including injury or a full udder.

Genetic disorders and hoof lesions play a part, he noted, but accurate herd lameness assessments require careful observation of cow movement.

Infectious causes

Cargill Animal Nutrition dairy technical specialist Mike Groen agreed with Gerber, saying nutrition increases cow health and farm success, but cow comfort is the primary focus with which to combat lameness.

“If you’re thinking about infectious or metabolic diseases — so, metritis and mastitis, milk fever, ketosis — barn design environment, flooring surface, the amount of time the cows have been on their feet, that all relates to lameness,” said Groen.

He said nutrition can also affect lameness. For example, acidosis can lower rumen pH, leading to rumen microbe death and triggering a release of endotoxins through inflammation, sparking lameness.

But cow environment is the first line of attack.

Gerber said he would like to see more aggressive action from producers to address strawberry foot (digital dermatitis) in heifers and dry cows.

Nutritional products are available for non-lactating diets to help prevent digital dermatitis. Gerber said studies show these can reduce the occurrence by 60 per cent.

“It has to be in those diets, if you talk to your feed manufacturer, a minimum of 60 days before you start seeing lesions and they’re walking on their toes.”

In herds with 20 to 30 per cent or higher incidence of digital dermatitis, Gerber advised two weeks of daily foot shock before phasing in a two- or three-day-a-week schedule to clean it up.

Over 30 days, that should address the problem, but without continuous maintenance, it will return because large lesions penetrate deeply into the dermis.

Foot baths

Gerber’s ideal dairy cow foot bath is 12 feet long, approximately three feet wide and six inches deep to ensure complete coverage from the coronary band down, especially on the hind legs where digital dermatitis is most prevalent.

“Based on the volume of water litres of that foot bath, how big it is, that’s going to tell you how many cows you’re going to be able to get through (before refreshing),” he explained.

Gerber uses two to three per cent formaldehyde, which requires extra care, but he suggested five per cent non-acidified copper or two to three per cent acidified copper as alternatives. Regular calibration is encouraged because the chemical is deactivated by cow dung.

Hoof trimming

Christian Nagel, owner of Nagel Hoof Care, said incorporating indoor hoof trimming areas in new barn builds or retrofits will attract hoof trimmers and improve cow comfort compared to all-weather trimming.

Herd management styles affect trimming schedules, as does stocking density and bedding. Nagel avoids trimming during cow transition periods unless absolutely necessary.

“She’s losing weight, she’s losing body condition, that fat pad at the bottom of her foot is getting thinner,” Nagel said. “We just run more risk of potentially causing issues if we’re just doing maintenance trims (then).”

Bedding and flooring

Housing environment plays a significant role in cow comfort and the incidence of lameness and abnormal locomotion.

Kelton said free stalls and tie stalls have similar lameness levels, according to provincial and national data.

“Consistently, probably the least amount of lameness issues we see are in bedded pack barns,” he said.

Nagel agreed, suggesting bedded pack barns rank highest, followed by sand-bedded free stalls. Gerber said the U.S. ranks sand first, recycled dried manure solids second and mattresses third.

Built to withstand cow wear and tear, mattress fabrics tend to be coarse, especially when new, and can cause rug-like burns on hocks and knees.

“Mattresses are a good base, but they need sufficient bedding on top to minimize that friction,” Gerber said.

He suggested four to six inches of bedding will do, but keeping it under the cows requires constant maintenance.

Flooring maintenance and timely regrooving can reduce white line incidents, added Groen.

The post Preventing lameness in dairy cattle appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The ‘Assessing lameness for transport’ poster outlines the yes/no questions to be answered when rating an animal, which is either placed in a ‘Go,’ ‘Unfit’ or ‘Compromised’ category.

Depending on the animal’s condition, it may take up to five questions to determine its fitness for transport.

The infographic also lists specific provisions if transporting a compromised or unfit animal.

It can be downloaded at the Government of Canada website.

The post Assessing lameness in livestock for transport appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

In fact, lameness is the most common symptom presented to the equine veterinarian. Almost every horse will experience some kind of lameness during its lifetime. Its diagnosis, treatment and collateral losses represent one of the most costly health problems for the equine industry.

Lameness itself is a nondescript term that characterizes the abnormal movement of a horse, and this degree of abnormal movement exists on a spectrum. Obvious limping and non-weight bearing of one limb associated with a stone bruise or hoof abscess describes a lame horse, yet the subtle change in gait or inability or unwillingness to perform also describes a lame or unsound horse.

Though often thought of as a problem of the feet or legs, lameness can and often does involve virtually any part of the horse’s body and its origins can have surprising roots. Not all lame horses are in pain, although many are. Some have a mechanical lameness as a result of scar tissue from a previous injury and some can have what appears to be a lameness due to a neurological disorder.

It is not uncommon to find multiple sites of ‘hurt’ in a lame horse as a result of the body’s attempt to adapt and compensate. Veterinarians and equine therapists asked for a second and even third opinion on lameness will often discover and identify seemingly different sources.

This may seem confusing and conflicting to the horse owners, however, in the majority of incidences, all professional parties are correct and contributing a chapter to the lameness story. Due to the anatomical complexity and connectivity of the animal, a horse identified with a singular diagnosis for lameness is more of an exception than the rule. Horses commonly hurt in more than one site and that hurt can ping-pong between locations in the body and the site of the pain is not always where the problem begins.

Horses with a subtle lameness may demonstrate any number of behaviours that are easy to misconstrue as training or resistance issues. Horses are incredibly willing creatures and thus it is necessary to consider that the horse with a subtle lameness ‘may not’ be able to do what is asked of it rather than ‘will not’ do what is asked of it. Unfortunately, many horses are asked to perform when they are in pain because of riders’ failure to recognize subtle physical unsoundness.

Many riders intuitively know when something’s not quite right with their horse’s gait or way of going — even if it is hard to articulate exactly what is being felt or seen. The horse may not look lame but there will be important clues in its history that warrant investigation and a deeper dive into matters. The horse may feel ‘off’ or isn’t smooth when ridden. The horse may show uncharacteristic behaviour upon tacking up.

Maybe the horse suddenly is reluctant to pick up a lead or perform more demanding manoeuvres. The nature of the lameness, although subtle may wax and wane depending on footing surfaces and 10-metre circles. On occasion, a horse’s lameness may only be evident when ridden and in some of these horses, lameness only occurs with a certain rider/horse combination.

These complaints seem vague yet they are valid and useful observations when it comes to investigating unsoundness. If a horse doesn’t ‘feel right’ to its rider, it probably is not right.

With the exception of a sudden injury, equine lameness rarely just happens. Horses often ‘go lame’ over time and it’s useful to understand the many factors at play.

Horses are ‘going lame’ if they are overburdened when they are physically and mentally immature, have weak conformation, have improper hoof balance, are inadequately conditioned, undergo monotonous repetitive exercising, worked on hard, slippery, or deep-footing surfaces, worked and exhausted to the point of fatigue with disregard for rest or turnout periods.

When thoroughly investigated, lamenesses have the potential to expose weakness in husbandry practices.

For example, certain types can be ascribed to inappropriate diets and dietary practices, which lead to poor hoof quality, tender feet, laminitis and digestive disturbances. Horses with gastrointestinal ulceration will commonly ‘appear’ lame and resistant to movement as they struggle with their abdominal discomfort.

Dental arcade imbalances and pain in the mouth translate into muscular tension along the top line and quickly set the stage for the appearance of secondary lameness as the kinematics of the legs are altered. Quality dental work can be instrumental in dissolving subtle lamenesses. Trailering and travel may be responsible for muscle soreness, fatigue and dietary disruptions and can cause, contribute to and/or compound lameness issues.

The interactions between horse and rider are important, but not always easy to follow. Yet there is a growing body of information implicating that the abilities of the rider to influence the movement of the horse and its body carriage are crucial to developing the horse’s body properly and meeting the athletic demands that will be asked of it. Ill-fitting tack, especially but not limited to the saddle, often goes unrecognized for its contribution to the development of lamenesses in horses.

Although many horses cope well enough with all kinds of lamenesses, their quality of life would greatly improve if the underlying nature and roots for their ‘kind’ of lameness was thoroughly understood and addressed.

The best way to approach this work is by stepping back and seeing and listening to the whole horse.

The post There are many kinds of ‘lame’ appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Lameness can affect any type of cattle including feedlot animals, breeding bulls, range cows, or animals confined to a corral. It limits an animal’s interest in eating, drinking, or breeding, resulting in lower weight gains and conception rates, making it an animal health and welfare concern, as well as a production and economic issue.

A 2019 study reported that lameness is the leading cause for health treatments in breeding cows and bulls.

However, diagnosing lameness isn’t always straightforward as the condition can be caused by multiple interrelated factors. Another recent feedlot study analyzed health records from 28 different western Canadian feedlots over a 10-year period to determine common lameness conditions. Overall, lameness was diagnosed in 4.4 per cent of steer and 4.7 per cent of heifer placements.

Comparing diagnoses by class of cattle, 4.9 per cent of calves were diagnosed with lameness compared with 4.0 per cent of yearlings. Of the lameness diagnoses, foot rot was most common at 74.5 per cent of lameness cases, followed by joint infections at 16.1 per cent, then lameness with no visible swelling at 6.1 per cent, followed by lameness due to injury 3.1 per cent.

The analysis also demonstrated that there may be some risk factors. Fall- and winter-placed calves were at a greater likelihood of being diagnosed with foot rot compared to yearlings. The study showed health status was a risk factor. Cattle diagnosed with lameness due to injury, joint infection, or lameness with no visible swelling were associated with a diagnosis of bovine respiratory disease.

In another study, researchers found that lameness accounted for 37.4 per cent of cattle in the chronic illness pen, with another 10.9 per cent of cattle being diagnosed with both respiratory disease and lameness. Transport is also a factor and can make any lameness issues worse. Healthy and fit cattle are at a low risk for lameness caused by transport, however, a 2008 survey reported that market cows were at a greater risk for lameness than fed cattle, feeders, or calves and the likelihood of lameness increased with the duration of transport.

There are four common general causes of lameness:

• Infection (foot rot, digital dermatitis, toe tip necrosis, infectious arthritis);
• Nutrition (laminitis, mycotoxin-related necrosis);
• Physical injury (frostbite, sprain, break);
• Genetics (bad conformation, temperament).

Infections can be difficult to diagnose, particularly because some are well understood, and some are not.

Foot rot is often characterized by a sudden onset of lameness and is worse during wet conditions. People sometimes assume any lameness is caused by foot rot however, this is not true. Foot rot is highly infectious and is typically caused by Fusobacterium necrophorum bacteria. The infection originates in between the claws of the hoof and may be characterized by heat and swelling in between the claws, as well as along the coronary band where the hoof meets the skin. If it is not identified and treated promptly, the infection can cause complications however, foot rot infections almost always respond well to treatment.

Toe tip necrosis is a lameness condition affecting the hind feet of feedlot cattle and research and information is emerging. It develops early in the feeding period, and often occurs within cohorts of animals. It has been associated with improper processing, poor handling, abrasive flooring, or flighty animal behaviour. Careful, low-stress handling and proper flooring may help prevent the development of toe tip necrosis.

Digital dermatitis, also known as hairy heel wart or strawberry foot rot, is a skin infection characterized by raised, painful lesions that are red and bleed easily if disturbed, and some have long fibrous hairs. Animals appear to walk on their tiptoes to avoid putting pressure on their heels. It is highly infectious and doesn’t respond well to injectable antibiotic treatment. It is being increasingly diagnosed in confined beef cattle.

While lameness can be an overwhelming problem, there are many useful management practices producers can implement to help reduce lameness, including:

• Regular pen cleaning and landscaping to ensure proper drainage, good footing, and minimal buildup of manure and bacteria that cause lameness (i.e. Fusobacterium necrophorum);
• Disinfecting and maintaining hoof-trimming equipment and tools;
• Removing sharp objects, such as rocks, ice, wire or metal, that may cause injury;
• Vaccinating/preconditioning cattle to reduce disease and improve overall health and immunity in order to minimize risk of lameness as a secondary ailment;
• Practising low-stress animal handling;
• Incorporating proper handling facility designs that include adequate traction and comfortable footing;
• Applying lime to barn floors following cleaning between fills to make the environmental pH less friendly to infectious lameness-causing bacteria;
• Consulting with your veterinarian regarding the potential use of a Fusobacterium necrophorum vaccine to prevent foot rot;
• Incorporating step-up rations for high-grain diets to reduce the risk of acidosis and laminitis;
• Testing feeds for potential mycotoxins that may lead to ergot poisoning;
• Carefully inspecting feet and legs on breeding cattle to ensure they are fit and sound;
• Prior to transport, carefully considering whether animals are suited for shipping. Market cows are at a greater risk for lameness and injury during transport.

For more information and resources on this topic, visit beefresearch.ca.

The post The cause of lameness in cattle isn’t always straightforward appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

A lot of these conditions of course are brought on by age. In order to get more longevity out of our cows, we need to look at lameness as it is one of the common reasons for culling.

In past years, the slightly arthritic cow was shipped but if we could prevent some of these injuries, or make it more comfortable for these cows, we can extend their productive life. The most common conditions are the stifled cow or ones experiencing lots of arthritic changes in their pelvis and hip joints.

The stifled cow only puts little weight on her toes and is usually quite swollen in the knee area. With very little usage of the leg muscles, muscle soon wastes away and the whole quarter becomes shrivelled. The ligaments holding the knee together have been damaged or ripped and often are irreparable.

Causes can be any sudden torque on the leg such as a breeding injury, getting stuck in soft terrain at a dugout, or bunted from the side when establishing pecking order. Trucking, loading, and moving cattle through narrow gates also predisposes them to these injuries.

We can eliminate a lot of these scenarios through good management practices.

Remote wind- or solar-powered watering stations around dugouts prevent cattle from having to slog through mud to drink. Not only does this prevent injuries, weight gains and health are better. Keeping the herd in good nutritional health and trimming bad-footed cows also minimize the chance for these kinds of injuries. Documenting when (the time of year) and where these injuries occur may shed light on their causes.

I realize some are totally a fluke and unpreventable. Producers have commented to me on rough breeding bulls knocking cows down or bunting them around. If one bull injures lots of cows, he may be one to put on the culling block. The same thing applies to overly aggressive cows or ones with horns. The cow with the extremely bad feet is more apt to get it caught or not have it pivot when it should, resulting in the stifle injuries just mentioned.

Once these injuries are permanent, allowing easy access to feed and water may allow you to keep them longer and get more calves out of them. Painkillers and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on prescription from your veterinarian can be used in acute cases. But once the condition becomes chronic, they are not practical to use and often not effective.

YOU must be the judge as to when the animal is suffering too much and decide whether you can get another calf out of her or not. If possible, synchronizing and AI’ing her may prevent further injuries.

Arthritis comes on with age, but in many cases longevity can be increased by keeping our calcium-to-phosphorus ratio at two to one and by keeping the cows in the right body condition.

In selecting replacements (bulls and heifers), we have always stated, “Select good feet and legs.” This increases longevity and may help prevent arthritis because of poor conformation and walking improperly. Also keep an eye on a straight back. Some calves are born with congenital spine abnormalities such as scoliosis (twisted spine) or torticollis (twisted neck) and should be avoided as replacements.

Problems at calving may result in separation of the sacroiliac joint (the point where the spine passes over the pelvis). Later this can lead to dropping of the spine and the bony points of the pelvis pushing up, which makes walking extremely difficult. If you hear a loud pop when pulling a calf, this may be what has happened. Selecting for easy calving, which most farmers are doing, can prevent these pelvic-type injuries from developing.

Treatment for all these conditions simply involves making the cow as comfortable as possible. Painkillers as mentioned can be used on a short-term basis and some can be mixed in with grain to make treatment that much easier. Some mildly stifled cows can last several years. For others, it may be trying to get that last calf out of them to orphan onto a needy cow.

Other arthritic conditions are septic arthritis of the P2-P3 joint with a severely swollen area above the claw. These may respond very well with amputation of the toe, while other techniques involving drilling out the joint are very successful long term.

Infectious arthritis involving the other joints often occurs in young weaned calves and often involves mycoplasma or histophilus organisms. These conditions come with a guarded prognosis for recovery even with extensive antibiotic therapy.

You can see arthritis comes in many forms and it is often in consultation with your veterinarian that the course of therapy or shipping is determined.

One must keep in mind that severely lame animals become an animal welfare issue, so it is critical to have them attended to — especially if weight bearing becomes minimal.

On rare occasions, we may get what I call a functional lameness where animals limp because of nervous damage, tendon injury, or conformational problems. In these cases, it takes experience to know when they are not in pain and don’t need treatment.

The post Lameness in cows can have many causes appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

“We would like to develop a strategy to diagnose lame sheep which can later be used to inform best management practices to treat these animals,” said Wiolene Montanari Nordi, at the recent AGM of the Alberta Lamb Producers.

Montanari Nordi, a post-doctoral fellow from Brazil, is working with Karen Schwartzkopf-Genswein’s research group at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Lethbridge research centre. Their work, focused on lameness in feedlot lambs and ewe flocks, involves assessing lambs and ewes and then following up with post-mortems after slaughter. (The group is about halfway through the study but is still looking for producers with ewe flocks who would like to participate.)

When lame animals are found, they are scored as mildly, moderately, or severely lame. The researchers then document risk factors for lameness, including what breed and sex; how muddy the pens are; how long the animal has been on feed; and whether it has been previously lame and what treatment was given. Pen density, bunk space, diet, weather, and environmental factors are also considered. Foot rot and digital dermatitis are the focus, with infrared photos taken to assess inflammation.

“We bring this information together collected with risk factors,” said Montanari Nordi. “We use all this information to help us understand how lameness develops.”

During feedlot assessments, the scientists have been seeing many cases of lameness, brought on by injuries, she said. In some cases, animals have broken legs.

“We have been seeing cases of joint infection,” added Montanari Nordi.

Other problems include broken hooves, club feet, overgrown hooves, and laminitis. Poor conformation in the legs and hoof is a major cause of lameness, and others are infection driven, such as digital dermatitis or foot rot that are caused by specific bacteria.

In digital dermatitis, the infection is concentrated between the toe, when mud has accumulated in the pen. In foot rot, the bacteria overruns both the hoof and the sole.

“When we have five per cent of the animals with foot rot or digital dermatitis in a pen, we call it an outbreak,” she said.

The post Finding a cause for lameness in sheep appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Making the correct diagnosis or recognizing specific clinical entities will alter specific treatments that are given. This article will review most common lameness issues and what common solutions are available.

This may help you get more favourable outcomes and potentially use fewer antibiotics. Remember, lameness is the symptom caused by pain. We need to find the cause of that pain.

Pain control can be justified in many cases and used to either help with recovery or ease the pain until other things can be done.

There are infectious versus non-infectious causes of lameness. Trauma or injury are examples of non-infectious causes of lameness, so antibiotics are often not necessary. Sometimes just waiting a day will see a resolution of the lameness, which indicates the problem was a sprain strain or sole bruise. Most producers diagnose lame cattle as ‘foot rot’ and give antibiotics. Some recover but many don’t, as foot rot is not what the animal is dealing with.

Before making that call, have as good a look as you can.

With the animal walking and then in the chute, the whole leg should be checked over and the foot lifted up. Classical signs of foot rot are the swollen foot with toes spread apart and often an open smelly wound between the toes. If the area is cleaned up, they often respond nicely to one course of antibiotics. If they don’t, it is most often something else.

In wetter conditions in some farms and feedlots, digital dermatitis is increasing in incidence. These cattle are extremely sore, especially over the back of the foot into the heel bulbs. They often try and walk on their tiptoes to avoid the back of the hoof and heel bulbs contacting the ground. They can become chronic and hard to treat, but tetracycline sprays or bandaging with tetracycline antibiotics (and potentially the use of footbaths) is what your veterinarian may recommend. If wrapped though they need to be removed in a day or two tops. Wraps can hold in moisture and worsen the condition, so be careful.

Another type of lameness, primarily found in feedlots, is called toe-tip necrosis and it develops just how it’s described. The bony end of the last bone in the toe gets necrotic or dead and causes tremendous pain over the end of the toe and almost a three-legged lameness. This condition is more often seen in fractious cattle and it’s believed it may start with transportation or processing of cattle.

I am convinced we need to make good traction for cattle a top priority in our chutes and alley systems. The struggling and pushing against these rigid traction bars may pull away the sensitive part of the toe. Then the hoof gets lifted off and the process starts. This leads to cattle becoming chronically and severely lame. In such cases, removing the tip of the toe to facilitate drainage may be curative. You can see foot rot and digital dermatitis can be relatively easy to treat, whereas toe-tip necrosis is not. Some veterinarians are even amputating the toe on a case-by-case basis with good results.

The last three examples foot rot, digital dermatitis, and toe-tip necrosis all carry vastly different treatments and prognosis. You may often need the help of your veterinarian to help you diagnose these different types of lameness involving the foot. The cases need to have individual treatment time and attention paid to them.

Dr. Karin Orsel an experienced bovine veterinarian at the University of Calgary faculty of veterinary medicine gave a great presentation at the UCVM Beef Cattle Conference on helping producers come up with a diagnosis of the type of lameness. Close examination of the feet and legs of our livestock when lameness is detected is critical to making the correct diagnosis. Taking a good video of the lameness that can be replayed will definitely help and provides a comparison later to see if the lameness is improving. Even the facial expressions of the cattle can help determine if the lameness is painful. Lameness also creates one of the highest levels of pain so often painkillers are part of the treatment prescribed by veterinarians on their lameness protocols. We now have painkillers approved for injecting, given orally, and in a pour-on product. Each has different withdrawal periods.

It could be argued that painkillers facilitate healing and recovery more than antibiotics do. With foot rot, cleaning the wound out and allowing air in will kill the organism. With digital dermatitis, topical (and not parenteral) tetracycline is more effective. With toe-tip necrosis, facilitating drainage or the toe amputations are the curative measures taken. Straight sole abscesses that we often see in dairy cows or breeding beef bulls also clear up rather quickly once drainage is established. You may see cattle throwing the lame leg in or out trying to avoid weight on the claw that is affected.

Other types of lameness may be caused by joint infections, which are often caused by mycoplasma or histophilus (two bugs that can also cause pneumonia among other things). Your veterinarian may need to culture these joints to see what the bug is. Although recovery is not likely, there may be preventive measures for the rest of the herd.

Trauma and/or nerve damage round out most of the common causes of lameness in most cattle.

Mature cows and bulls can develop bad cracks, corkscrew and other hoof deformities as well as interdigital fibromas (corns). Again with careful observation, these issues can be detected and your veterinarian or a good hoof trimmer may be able to improve the situation. Septic arthritis of the last joint underneath the hoof results in a severely lame cow or bull, and often results in claw amputation or drilling out the joint by your veterinarian under anesthesia so it will fuse. A sound animal with an enlarged claw is the result.

You can see that with every type of lameness, there are many different causes and treatment options your veterinarian may use.

With most, antibiotics are often not the answer and each case must be evaluated individually. If cattle don’t respond to the treatment, it is imperative to have another look.

Next time you’re going to treat lameness because of the diagnosis of foot rot, I want you to ask yourself two things: Is it really foot rot or something else? And are antibiotics necessary?

If it is something you have not seen before, then perhaps your veterinarian should be advised so he or she can help you with the diagnosis and to develop a protocol for that type of lameness in the future.

The outcome will be more favourable and while painkillers may be prescribed in most cases, less antibiotics will be used.

The post Don’t jump to conclusions when cattle come up lame appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Impact of Trace Minerals and Infectious Disease on Reproductive Performance examines the effect of trace mineral deficiencies (which reduce growth, milk production, and reproductive rate, and also cause a variety of metabolic diseases) in high-risk geographical regions.

Investigating Lameness in Feedlots examines both healthy and hospital/chronic pens by season, and relationship to other health problems; types of lameness observed and potential causes; and environmental or managerial factors.

The post New beef research fact sheets available appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The coronet or coronary band refers to the area on the horse where the hairline meets the hoof capsule. This structure is responsible for continuous hoof growth over the horse’s lifetime. When the coronary band is injured, in any way, the future growth of a horse’s hoof wall is jeopardized. The coronary band of the horse is like the cuticle or nail bed of a human finger. This is the germinal centre that actively makes new cells, and so the growth of the hoof wall depends on the viability of these cells.

Inside the coronary band is the coronary corium, a blood-filled tissue which generates and feeds the hoof wall. New hoof wall cells produced in the corium gravitate downward from the coronary band in a spiralling configuration, giving the hoof wall its framework of strength and elasticity. Any interruption in this growth pattern will disrupt the integrity of the hoof wall. As a sequelae, the appearance and sometimes the functionality of the hoof wall is affected. Hoof wall defects as a result of coronary band injuries will run vertically from the site of injury. These defects can take the form of a cosmetic deformity such as a blemish, a crack, a fissure or a depression in the hoof wall. If severe enough, the cracks and fissures risk becoming inflamed or infected and can lead to lameness.

Horses sustain coronary band injuries following a number of unfortunate events. Entanglements with wire, and collisions with fences, metal sheds, old equipment, or trail debris to name a few. Coronary band injuries also commonly occur during trailer loading and/or while the horse is travelling in a trailer and attempting to negotiate its footing during travel. Further means of harm can come to the coronary band when horses overreach — when the back hoof connects with the foreleg below the pastern. This misstep can happen during training or with high-speed sporting events such as barrel racing, reining or jumping. The incidence of “clipping” the pastern and coronet is further increased during takeoff, landing and striding when corks are placed in iron shoes.

The treatment for coronary band injuries depends upon the severity of the injury. If the injury is not too serious, it may be gently cleaned with water and kept wrapped for the period of time necessary to heal. It becomes very important to keep this area as clean as possible for it offers the body the best chances of successfully resolving the injury with the least amount of permanent damage to the hoof wall. Injuries to the coronary band often bleed profusely due to their rich blood supply. Therefore bleeding may need to be controlled with a clean pressure bandage. A hospital bandage applied to the foot offers the wound the best opportunity to heal. Such a bandage may seemingly appear to be “in excess” yet an investment in “overcare” with injuries in this particular location is worthwhile.

More serious injuries may require veterinary exploration to assess the level of damage.

Debridement, surgical repair, or followup casting of the foot for a period of time may be necessary to minimize complications and improve the final outcome.

The close proximity of these wounds to the ground surface places them at a greater risk for contamination, and so the need to keep them bandaged while healing is pertinent. Healing is further challenged by the loading and unloading of the hoof which results in constant movement of the healing tissues. Therefore, an equally important part of healing coronary band injuries is proper trimming of the hoof. By sparing and easing the forces of weight bearing, proper growth from the coronet is encouraged.

Measures taken to prevent coronary band injuries include policing the horse’s environment for safety as well as acknowledging high-risk situations for injury. These include trailering, early stages of training where foot placement by the young horse can be awkward, and specific competition demands. Bell boots, which cover the coronary band, worn at these times will often avert injuries. Horses improperly trimmed or shod will also be at a greater risk for injuries to this vulnerable site due to increased chances of overreaching.

Early recognition and proper care of coronary band injuries favour a positive outcome for the healing process, and mitigates damage to this particularly sensitive tissue.

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These discoveries are important since horse owners and veterinarians are no longer left simply managing pain, but rather they are becoming increasingly empowered to manage the lifestyle and welfare leading to the ever-growing phenomena of lameness in the present-day horse population.

Lamenesses in horses rarely “just happen.” Whilst addressing the horse’s present condition or local lesion is very important it is equally important to question the root cause of the lameness.

“How and why did the horse arrive at this place of lameness?” Of course, some lamenesses such as hoof abscesses, stone bruises, or trauma to the limbs are more simple than others, such as developmental bone diseases, arthritis, bowed tendons, and laminitis which often have much deeper roots of cause.

Nutrition, living conditions, horsemanship, riding practices, tack, dental care, hoof care, and exercise programs (too little, too much or poorly executed) are factors which influence and contribute to the horse’s state of soundness and these are equally important factors to consider when evaluating lameness.

For example a youngster that is “overconditioned” to meet show and/or sale agendas and then asked to meet performance and training standards beyond its physical maturity is a prime candidate for lameness a few years later as it reaches four or five years of age.

One could certainly report the horse’s lameness to be the result of developmental bone disease or arthritis, however, these labels only describe the symptomatic pathology and do little to acknowledge the causative insults. Although the connection between an overly rich diet, an overzealous training program and lameness spans the time period of many years, these connections are nonetheless repeatable and predictable in the population of young performance horses.

On the surface, pain management appears to provide a reasonable means to improve the horse’s welfare, yet the horse’s welfare would have been better served by both a moderate and proper diet and a reasonable and patient training program.

Another example is the horse that is struggling with gastric and/or intestinal ulcers. These horses may present a confusing picture of mixed lamenesses exhibiting short striding and/or gaiting asymmetrically in an attempt to find a way of going which best suits their ailing gut. Ultimately dietary corrections and environmental enrichment are necessary to address the unsoundness.

From my perspective, even the riding horse that begins to buck is showing a form of lameness as the horse is no longer willing to move forward. A thorough investigation may reveal the source of bucking to be an ill-fitting saddle or dental discomfort. Once the source is found and corrected the horse no longer bucks.

Many lamenesses are in the process of happening when owners report issues such as resistance, or behaviour/attitude problems. These are often the beginnings of what eventually turns into pathology.

Lamenesses in the limbs can often be the result of a sustained duration of compensations and adaptations from loss of mobility in structures elsewhere in the body, such as the dental arcade, neck, shoulder girdle, back, or pelvis. For example, a sore back can lead to abnormal limb kinematics and thus the horse appears lame.

Hence the end issue of lameness often does not exist in isolation, rather, is rooted somewhere else in the body.

Pain and/or lameness is merely a messenger or an end point, seeking resolve and understanding. Changes at the root level capable of returning and ensuring soundness in horses can be remarkably simple practices such as proper nutrition, turnout time, improved tack or horsemanship, patience, rest, or proper dental/hoof care.

Pain management for lameness is only one small part in the recovery of the horse to soundness. Painkillers bear the unfortunate outcome of asking the horse to ignore the pain and continue using its body in spite of the horse’s own internal message to rest select joints, bones, tendons, or muscles.

So, although the reliance on painkillers may appear superficially beneficial and bring short-term results, their indiscriminate use may ultimately decrease the horse’s performance career.

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