BACK TO QUEBEC CITY 2002 TITLES
Kinematics of dairy cow
gait
F. Flower, D. Sanderson
and D.M. Weary
University of British
Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Current methods of assessing lameness in dairy cattle have been unable to identify individuals in the early stages of development. Our objective was to utilize techniques used in the study of human biomechanics to quantify the gait pattern of normal, healthy walking cows. Using this gait pattern as a baseline, we investigated whether cows with hoof diseases alter their gait. Basic kinematic stride measurements (stride duration, length, stance and swing phases and stride variability) were obtained from 46 lactating cows walking on a test alley over 7 consecutive days. The phases of each cow’s gait cycle were quantified from digitized video records using motion analysis software. Hooves were clinically assessed for the presence of sole lesions and digital dermatitis 10 weeks following the trial. Cows were grouped according to hoof health into one of three groups: healthy (n = 20), those with sole lesions (n = 17) and those with digital dermatitis and sole lesions (n = 9). Cows with healthy hooves spent significantly less time (P < 0.001) with their hooves in contact with the ground (54.1 ± 0.8 %) than either cows with sole lesions (57.6 ± 0.94 %) or digital dermatitis and sole lesions (56.6 ± 1.37 %). The data also indicate that cows with hoof problems modify their gait pattern in terms of stride length and height. The use of computerized movement analysis appears to be a useful diagnostic tool for the identification of cows with lameness.