I am eagerly anticipating attending a BCVA Foot Health Trainer course this week, run by the champions of foot health in cattle Sara Pedersen and Tim Carter. Once I have attended the course, I will be accredited to run Lantra-approved foot trimming courses for cattle farmers, in part-nership with a Cattle Hoof Care Standards Board instructor, who is a fully qualified and audited professional foot trimmer.
Teaching practical foot health is something I have wanted to do for a long time, motivated by my experiences of watching feet being trimmed by my dairy farmer clients. Many have never had any formal training in foot trimming and have likely been taught by an older colleague or relative. Unfortunately, in some cases, I have seen this results in poor trimming practices, unsuitable or unmaintained equipment and facilities, and a lack of enjoyment of foot trimming. This often results in them putting off the job for as long as possible.
However, for balance, at this point I should also say that another of my clients, a herd manager, recently put the time and expense into becoming a fully qualified Cattle Hoof Care Standards Board foot trimmer himself. The resulting improvement in foot shape, foot health and positive approach to trimming cows' feet speaks for itself in the reduction in prevalence and incidence of lameness on his farm. Observing this process has only increased my enthusiasm for offering those who work with dairy cows the chance to learn good strategies for foot health, in a recognised standardised course that will give them the skills they need – whether it is attending the 1-day ‘First Aid for Feet’ or allowing the time for the more extended ‘Intermediate Foot Trimming’.
Pedersen et al's (2022) work found that on 32% of dairy farms, all foot trimming was performed by farm staff, and on 22% of farms a combination of farm staff and a foot trimmer were used. This highlights that at least a third of those dairy cows were being trimmed by those who may not have any formal training. With these courses, we hope to help people hone their existing skills and allow opportunities for questions and feedback.
A frequent finding of research into farmer and vet attitudes to lameness is that the farmer's understanding of a lame cow can be very different to that of a vet (Wynands et al, 2021). That can be a barrier to discussing any (real or perceived) problems on the farm. Focussing attention on foot trimming can remove this barrier while still resulting in improved foot health at an individual and herd level. A key component of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board Healthy Feet Programme is early detection and prompt effective treatment: this is equally applicable to all herd sizes and systems and good foot trimming has an essential part to play.
I have been an Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board mobility mentor since 2015. During this time, I have seen increasing focus on preventing and reducing dairy cattle lameness and am enormously grateful for the amazing drive and energy of Owen, Sara and Nick in heading up the Mobility Mentor program. They have continued to push for higher standards and better engagement of vets with their clients. I have seen the advent of Register of Mobility Scorers (RoMS) and helped train two of our veterinary paraprofessional staff in this skill. We now visit many of our dairy farms every quarter to give independent assessments of the mobility of every cow in the herd. This increased attention to lameness has not often been client-driven but more often as a result of milk contract requirements. However, I know that our clients who have given more time to reducing lameness on their farms would say that it was time well spent and they are reaping the rewards in terms of milk yield, fertility and longevity.
When I announced at a recent dairy client meeting that we were soon to be offering foot trimming courses, I was delighted to have many positive comments and I already have a waiting list of interested parties for when we set a date for the first one. Of course, the training is not limited to dairy farmers – not only our other cattle clients but also many vets would probably value this opportunity to gain in skills and confidence, as I will myself. Looking to the future, the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway is going to target dairy lameness as one of its key endemic diseases, and I hope to see further funding, research and support for farmers to help them tackle this issue.