Why, Who, and Where?
Why?
- To identify an individual cow that is lame so that she can be treated
- To determine the herd lameness prevalence for herd troubleshooting and tracking
Who?
- To identify an individual cow that is lame so that she can be treated
- Routinely watch each pen of cows at least once per week to identify new cases of lameness for treatment
- Score cows at dry off to identify cows that need attention before the dry period
- To determine the herd lameness prevalence for herd troubleshooting and tracking
- In small herds (<100 cows) all of the cows should be scored
- In larger herds, most welfare audits use a sampling strategy focused on multiparous high producing cows (at least 2/3 of the risk population) and the lame / sick cows if they are segregated from the rest of the herd
Where?
- Ideally, cows should be scored as they walk toward, past and away from the observation spot in a situation where the rear legs and back of the cow can be easily seen.
- To accurately score, the cow must be walking separately on an even, non-slip, well lit surface. Try to avoid areas with excessive slope, slatted floors or very abrasive concrete which tend to affect gait in their own right.
- When scoring a group, the observer must be able to control the flow of cattle past the observation spot. Typically, group scoring is best performed as cows exit a parlor along a transfer lane. After milking is also the time period when cows with claw horn lesions such as sole ulcer, have the most obvious gait abnormalities (Flower et al., JDS 89:2084, 2006)
Head Carriage
Head bob or uneven head movement, usually most obvious with forelimb lameness.
Cows will walk with a noticeable head bob, especially when the front leg lameness is at more severe degrees of lameness.
They are using their heads to throw weight off the affected limb as they move.
They are using their heads to throw weight off the affected limb as they move.
This cow has an obvious head bob and is both front leg and rear leg lame.
Arch of Back
Convex arch between withers and the tail.
Since rear limb lameness represents ~90% of all lameness in dairy cattle, the degree of the back arch can be used to screen for and grade the severity of the lameness. However, it tends to be over-emphasized in some gait scoring systems and is an unreliable method of detecting front limb lameness.
This cow stands and walks with an obvious arch to the back.
Asymmetric Gait or Cadence
Arrhythmic Hoof Placement
This is the most useful attribute to identify as it is altered in both front and rear limb lameness, and it can be detected when the view of the cow is partially obscured. It best determines whether or not the cow is lame, but differentiates between degrees of lameness less well. It is therefore a useful initial screening observation.
Tracking
Rear feet falling short of the front feet imprint which is often impacted by flooring surface and walking speed.
With a perfectly sound cow, walking briskly, the rear foot should land where the front foot fell. Most cows moving slowly are a little ‘short’ in their stride, but this becomes more obvious with lameness.
Weight Transfer Between Limbs
Sinking of the dew claws on the contralateral limb to the lame limb.
The dew-claws of the rear feet provide a useful means to measure the weight transfer off the affected limb onto the contra-lateral limb. As this limb bears more weight, the dew-claws sink closer to the ground. This gait attribute is therefore useful in determining the degree of lameness. Weight transfer: the left rear dew claws sink lower to the ground because the right rear foot is painful and the cow transfers weight off of it to the left side.
Joint Flexion
Stiffness in movement and abduction of the limb away from the mid-line.
Cows walk with joint ‘stiffness’.
They may be reluctant to flex the fetlock, hock or knee on the front leg and prefer to swing the leg away from the mid-line (abduction). This cow abducts her right rear leg
They may be reluctant to flex the fetlock, hock or knee on the front leg and prefer to swing the leg away from the mid-line (abduction). This cow abducts her right rear leg
Scoring Systems
- Locomotion or mobility scoring systems are in use with between 2 and 9 points, with 3-5 point systems being the most common.
- Whatever system is used, the best combination of Sensitivity and Specificity for prediction of presence of a painful hoof lesion (ie ‘lame’) is the cow with noticeable weight transfer (Sensitivity 67%, Specificity 85%; Bicalho et al., 2007 JDS 90:3294).
- Lifestep recommends a simple 3-point system to monitor ‘lame’ (score 2) and ‘severely lame’ (score 3).
- Locomotion Scorer Mobile App – Learn how to locomotion score dairy cows for lameness using a 3, 4, or 5 category scale. All three systems provide pictures, video, and verbal descriptions of each category.
| 3-Point | 4-Point (e.g. DairyCo) | 5-Point (e.g. Zinpro) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Description | Score | Description | Score | Description | |||
| 1 | Walks without obvious gait asymmetry or weight transfer between limbs and cannot discern which leg is lame after a few strides. Steps may be slightly uneven and may have a flat or subtle arch to the back. | 1 | Walks with even weight bearing and rhythm on all four feet, with a flat back. Long fluid strides possible. | 1 | Stands and walks normally with a level back. Makes long confident strides. | |||
| 2 | Steps uneven or strides shortened, but affected limb or limbs not immediately identifiable. | 2 | Stands with flat back, but arches when walk. Gait is slightly abnormal. | |||||
| 2 | Asymmetric gait with obvious weight transfer and shortening of the stride of the affected limb altering cadence of movement. May also show a head bob, back arch and joint stiffness leading to abduction of the limb. | 3 | Uneven weight bearing on a limb is immediately identifiable and/or obviously shortened strides (usually with an arch to the center of the back). | 3 | Stands and walks with an arched back and short strides with one or more legs. Slight sinking of the dew-claws in limb opposite to the affected limb may be evident. | |||
| 3 | Able to walk only with extreme difficulty, almost unable to bear weight on the affected limb. Pronounced back arch with rear limb lameness. These animals are frequently in poor body condition and in obvious pain. | 4 | Unable to walk as fast as a brisk human pace coupled with uneven weight bearing and shortened stride, with a back arch. | 4 | Arched back standing and walking. Favoring one or more limbs but can still bear some weight on them. Sinking of the dew-claws is evident in the limb opposite to the affected limb. | |||
| 5 | Pronounced arching of the back. Reluctance to move, with almost complete weight transfer off the affected limb | |||||||
Scoring Videos
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Score 1 (3 point system)
Walks without obvious gait asymmetry or weight transfer between limbs and cannot discern which leg is lame after a few strides. Steps may be slightly uneven and may have a flat or subtle arch to the back.
Score 2 (3 point system)
Asymmetric gait with obvious weight transfer and shortening of the stride of the affected limb altering cadence of movement. May also show a head bob, back arch and joint stiffness leading to abduction of the limb.
Score 3 (3 point system)
Able to walk only with extreme difficulty, almost unable to bear weight on the affected limb. Pronounced back arch with rear limb lameness. These animals are frequently in poor body condition and in obvious pain.