Hoof trimming as a part of lameness control in dairy farms

Production diseases and conditions is common on intensive dairy farming which lead to pain and uncomforting or death in affected animals. Lameness has negative effects on comfort and economic issues. In many cases, lameness is associated with pain, which may change the cow's motivation to perform certain behaviors (such as walking, lying, etc.) for pain reduction and discomfort. Reduced milk yield, poor reproductive performance, shortened productive time, increased culling risk and treatment costs are the major related economic losses. Despite all the negative effects of lameness on animals and the dairy industry, limited research has been done to evaluate preventive measures. Low awareness of lameness maybe the biggest problem in its detection and control. Lameness control strategies usually include hoof trimming and treatment of motility disorders. The aim of this study is to investigate the importance of hoof trimming and its effect on claw health (effect of hoof trimming on infectious diseases, non-infectious diseases or other claw-related injuries), behavioral variables (lying time and locomotion score), physiological variables (heart rate, respiration rate, plasma cortisol level, etc.), production variables (milk production and reproduction) and other factors related to hoof trimming.