4 Feb 2020
Workshops and lameness updates at ‘Footy Fetish Club’ conference
Roger Blowey, BVSc, BSc, FRCVS, reviews the 2019 Lameness in Ruminants Conference, which was held in the Asakusa region of Tokyo, Japan.

The meeting was in the Asakusa region of Tokyo, near the Sensō-ji temple and pagoda.
The first meeting of the International Ruminant Digit Symposium was in Utrecht, the Netherlands, in 1976 – and the conference has since been held almost every second year at venues around the world.
Also called the “Footy Fetish Club”, founder members included Paul Greenough, David Weaver and Egbert Toussaint Raven.
In 2017, the conference was hosted in Munich – and in 2019 we were guests of the Japanese Hoof Trimmers Association. The meeting was in the Asakusa region of Tokyo, near the Sensō-ji temple and pagoda – so plenty of attractions were within walking distance of the hotel.
On the first evening, we had a small presentation on the life and contribution of Mr Greenough to lameness. He had written his own obituary and sent it to me a few years before he died. Additionally, a copy of the proceedings – signed by many of those present – was posted to David Weaver, who was unable to attend.
Hoof lesions
A wide range of presentations were held on all aspects of lameness – and as usual, the biomechanics of weightbearing, and treatment and control of digital dermatitis predominated.
It was 100 years ago that Rusterholtz (in 1920) showed increased pressure on the foot leads to the production of sole ulcers. The dorsal wall of the pedal bone is fixed in position by its collagen suspension to the wall of the hoof, and it is only the heel area of P3 that moves during locomotion.
As weight is taken, the heel area of P3 moves downwards, compressing the digital cushion, and this leads to dissipation of the forces of weightbearing.
When walking, the heel makes contact with the ground first, then the cow pushes off on the next step with her toe. It is the central sole area of the lateral hind digit that takes most of the pressure; this is why this area needs to be “modelled” or “dished” during hoof trimming – it reduces the pressure.
Excess pressure on the corium leads to the production of poorer-quality horn, to inflammation of the periosteum with subsequent production of new bone, and to reduced healing of lesions present. Minimising weightbearing – for example, by use of blocks – is, therefore, vital to improve healing.
The foot should be trimmed so that weightbearing is transferred on to the wall of the hoof and, therefore, through the collagen suspension on to the skeleton.
In separate presentations, Karl Nuss and Hiroyuki Manabe looked at differences in weightbearing between the medial and lateral claws.
It was shown many years ago that, after functional hoof trimming, the lateral hind claw and medial front claws remain the major weightbearing surfaces, especially the central sole regions.
In current studies, it was demonstrated that, in front feet, the lateral hind claw needs to be left 3mm higher than the medial claw if load bearing is to be equalised; similarly, in hindfeet, the medial claw could be left 3mm higher than the lateral claw.
Although often talked about in relation to lameness, Mr Nuss showed different leg postures (cow hocked, straight-legged, for example) did not have a major influence on load distribution in hind claws, so were presumably not that important in the development of lameness.
One of the most striking presentations was delivered by Evgenij Telezhenko. He had developed a new technique that allowed sensors to be placed inside the foot – between the corium and the hoof – and was able to look at pressure distribution over different areas of the weightbearing surface of the foot.
Results were similar to the data obtained from external pressure sensors, in that the greatest pressure is taken on the central sole area of lateral claws, but the difference between wall and sole was emphasised.
When the cow is standing on concrete, a large proportion of her weight is taken on the sole of the lateral claw. On rubber matting, less weight is placed on the sole and more pressure is transferred to the wall.
The biggest changes, however, were seen when the foot was placed on pasture. This transferred more weight on to the wall – and considerably more weight on to the medial claw – therefore reducing weightbearing on the central sole area of the lateral hind claw.
This helps explain why we see far fewer sole ulcers in animals on pasture and emphasises the need to transfer weight on to the wall when hoof trimming.
An interesting study by Beth Reilly (presented by Rueben Newsome) looked at sole thickness of Jersey and cross-bred dairy animals during routine foot trimming. Very few (3.7%) of the cows examined needed toe length shortening, while a surprising number (17%) of normal cows had a sole thickness less than 5mm. Thin soles did not predispose to lameness, however, in that those cows that did subsequently become lame were more associated with a long dorsal wall than thin soles.
The effects of diet on lameness is rarely talked about, but one interesting presentation from the Munich group looked at the effect of differing dietary crude protein levels (9%, 11%, 13%, 15% and 17%) on the tensile strength of abaxial hoof in fattening bulls. The forelimb hoof wall had a higher tensile strength than hindlimb, and the lateral hind claw higher than the medial.
Results showed cattle on the 9% crude protein diet had the lowest tensile strength, with no difference between the other values. This does not support the opinion that high-protein diets lead to lameness.
A Japanese study of 217 cows, in 11 farms, given biotin-containing salt blocks showed an increase in serum biotin compared to controls, and a decrease in hoof lesions.
Early detection of lameness allows prompt treatment and faster recovery; therefore, any form of accurate automated detection will be of benefit.
Andrea Fiedler’s group developed an automated ultrasound scanning system to detect solar overgrowth and, therefore, the need for foot trimming, with cows walking through water to get a good interface. For cows on concrete, solar overgrowth recurred in as little as between 5 weeks and 10 weeks after trimming.
Yasushi Chida fitted wireless acceleration sensors to the backs of animals, and was able to show a marked difference between lame and non-lame animals, with the lame animals showing far greater “side to side” back movements.
Isabella Lorenzini used video recordings and a predictive algorithm to examine standing and lying behaviour, and to identify lame cows, and showed a mean of just 9.5 days between sound and lame.
The Massey group used infrared thermography in an attempt to detect lame cows, and compared results with conventional locomotion scoring. They found a significant association of foot temperature between loco score zero and one, but not between scores one and two. Wet on the rear of the heel tends to reflect the infrared light and was a complicating factor.
Digital dermatitis
Digital dermatitis (DD) clearly remains a major problem for many countries – and like most lameness conferences, plenty of new research was presented.
Although the microbial cause of DD is generally considered to be the three treponemes (Treponema medium, Treponema phagedenis and Treponema pedis), increasing evidence exists that other organisms may be involved.
Using metagenomics, a Japanese study showed T phagedenis and Bacteroides were the most common bacteria isolated from lesions, but other unculturable bacteria were present.
Gingivitis in humans has similar polymicrobial aetiology. Treatment led to a dramatic decrease in treponemes.
Further evidence for the polymicrobial theory came from Chris Luby. It is well known that it is easier to induce DD experimentally using lesional material compared to pure cultures. In this study, it was found the 16S microbiomes of herds with early-stage DD lesions that never progressed to clinical lameness differed to those herds where DD was a problem.
Although DD treponemes may be present in both types of herds, a much higher level of T phagedenis was present in clinically affected herds.
The Liverpool group had an interesting series of presentations.
Jennifer Bell looked at the differing survival rates of DD treponemes in different bedding types. In the laboratory, the median DD survival in sterile slurry was one day (range zero days to six days). Survival rates were up to seven days in sand, six days in sawdust and five days in recycled manure solids, but zero days in straw or sand mixed with lime (calcium oxide) where the pH of the bedding is 9.5 or above.
At this pH level, Escherichia coli and Streptococcus uberis are also killed; therefore, the lime sand mixture is increasing in popularity in some areas.
A good survival of DD occurred at pH6 to pH9, and in the temperature range of 4°C to 37°C, but no survival at 60°C and warmer.
Amy Gillespie tackled the difficult subject of the best way to disinfect hoof knives between cows. Previous work has shown DD can be found on hoof knives, and the current study shows the treponemes remain viable on a hoof knife for at least two hours, so, presumably, a potential transmission risk exists.
A range of disinfectants were tried in the laboratory. After washing with water, 13 of the 16 knives remained positive on culture; for the knives dipped in Virkon, hypochlorite and FAM for 20 seconds, no treponemes were cultured.
The disinfection technique is being tested in the field, with washed knives showing 100% remaining contamination, Virkon 50% and hypochlorite 34%. Results of further on-farm trials are to follow.
Scoring of DD using the Döpfer M-stage system is often discussed. Following an idea from Nick Bell, Tommy Armstrong and others, pictures of DD lesions were sent to a number of experienced observers. The level of inter-observer agreement was not good, and it was suggested more training was needed. Perhaps only M2 scoring is needed.
Katarzyna Rzewuska showed DD was the most common lesion reported by Polish hoof trimmers and that the heritability of DD was 0.11.
In a study of 823 cows’ legs taken from knacker yards, Jo Combe and colleagues from Melbourne found 30% of cows had DD lesions; of these, 20% were active M2s. Treponemes were the main organism identified.

Several presentations looked at the treatment of DD, with a strong emphasis on moving away from antibiotics. These included topical copper and zinc salts, allyl isothiocyanate from wasabi (very appropriate for Japan), acrinol powder, and a micronised silver product sprayed on to feet. All were effective – showing non-antibiotic products can be used as an alternative.
Using punch biopsies, Charlotte Kroeger from Munich carried out a histological assessment of the regrowth of epidermal layers following five different treatments. Salicylic acid gave the best response.
The controversy over whether to wrap a foot continues, with both having advantages and disadvantages.
Using Provita Konquest to treat M2 DD lesions, Sophie Mahendran looked at the moisture content of different dressing types. All dressings used became very wet just two days post-application, with wraps containing a conforming layer of cotton bandage beneath the vet wrap being worst affected.
As it is well known that damp skin conditions predispose to DD, this could be a reason for not using a dressing. Or, possibly, further research is needed to find a waterproof dressing.
Workshops
Practical workshops were held at the Azabu University field station.
Mr Manabe demonstrated his hoof trimming technique, while Dr Mulling and Dorte Döpfer gave practical demonstrations based on what they had covered in their lectures.
Conclusion
Lameness remains one of the major conditions affecting dairy cows, and the Lameness in Ruminants Conference was an excellent way of keeping up to date with the latest research on the subject.
The next conference will be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, from 2 to 6 August 2021. It’s worth making a note in your diary.