Treating injuries of the horn in lame cows

Cattle hooves can become injured due to physical factors like weight bearing. Common examples include sole bruising, sole ulcers and white line disease. Treat horn injuries quickly to prevent further damage.

Begin by following steps 1 to 3 of the hoof-trimming method.

Always correct the toe length, foot balance and weight distribution before seeing to the problem.

Take care not to take too much horn away by unnecessarily following black marks. Use hoof testers to identify where the problem is, if not immediately visible.

Figure 1. Hoof tester

Trimming alone (step 4 of the five-step method) is often insufficient to create enough height difference to relieve weight bearing on the diseased claws.

The proactive use of blocks is generally recommended when the partner claw is sound (check with hoof testers).

Figure 2. A blocked claw

Under veterinary guidance, administer non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to reduce inflammation, scarring and pain.

Removing loose horn and thinning the margins around lesions improves recovery by:

• Reducing pinching of the lesion
• Allowing trapped pus to drain
• Preventing gravel or dirt becoming trapped

If underrunning is severe, ask your vet to trim the loose horn under local anaesthesia. This is particularly useful for chronic white line lesions, toe necrosis or axial wall fissures.

Removing the under-run horn to the point where it’s firmly attached to the underlying corium requires care, sharp knives, patience, time and skill.

A blunt probe can help guide how much to remove. Avoid causing bleeding. Bleeding means you’ve cut into live tissue, creating a new injury.

Figure 3. A double sole caused by pus tracking to the toe

Figure 4. A white line abscess bursting out at the top of the wall

A white line abscess may have pus tracking back towards the heel, forwards to the toe or up the wall.

Carefully remove loose horn where needed to allow drainage and reduce pressure within the foot.

A sole ulcer may have some loose horn around its base.

With care, these lesions can be opened to allow drainage and to get air to the injury.

Where there’s infection of the corium (quick), a licensed topical antibiotic spray can be applied.

Sole ulcers may have flesh protruding. Carefully trim around this to thin the margins and remove the collar of loose horn. There’s no need to cut off any corium (quick).

Digital dermatitis infection on the corium can occur and result in delayed healing or failure to cure.

Expose these lesions to air and treat with licensed topical antibiotic spray.