AHDB foot health resources

In addition to the materials and resources available exclusively to Mobility Mentors, AHDB publish a number of excellent resources to support delivery of foot health training and on-farm advice, says Nick Bell. The quality of these resources is becoming recognised internationally and are easily ordered through AHDB here.

Here are some of the most useful ones to be aware of:

1. The Hoofcare Field Guide. This handy pocket-sized guide with water resistant waxed pages covers practical details such as signs of lameness, knife sharpening, “five step method” of hoof trimming and more. It has been one of the most popular of all the AHDB resources.

2. Lesion recognition and trouble shooter guide. This guide helps identify possible causes of the common lesions causing lameness.

3. Mobility scoring guide – these laminated sheets are useful for any beginners who are learning how to mobility score. Note, it is always important to train all farm staff to spot the early signs of lameness – you can’t learn it by reading the guide alone.

4. Mobility scoring pads. While electronic recording is becoming more popular, for most people capturing scores on paper is still the easiest approach.

5. Foot trimming record pads. This is a simple score sheet, developed with NACFT using a popular recording format.

6. Healthy Feet Programme guides – farmer and mobility mentor. An overview of the Healthy Feet Programme to guide farmers or colleagues.

Other resources

If you are a mobility mentor and would like to be reminded of what resources are available to you then please get in touch. As well as resources on the AHDB website, there are additional items located on the www.cattle-lameness.org.uk website.