Survey of veterinarians and hoof trimmers on methods applied to treat claw lesions in dairy cattle
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A survey was administered to members of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) and the Hoof Trimmers Association (HTA) to identify various treatment methods for claw horn lesions. A total of 345 people responded to the survey, of which 196 identified themselves as members of AABP, 111 as members of HTA, 9 as having membership in both organizations, and 29 providing no information as to affiliation with either of these organizations. A total of 307 respondents were included in the final analysis. The majority of veterinarians (80%) indicated that their knowledge about foot care was part of their veterinary education, 34% developed or refined their skills and understanding through experience and attendance at various continuing education programs, and 9% cited additional training from attendance at a formalized foot care program. Training cited by hoof trimmers included the following: 65% apprenticeship with another trimmer, 41% professional hoof care training program, and 30% learning primarily through experience. Sixty-eight percent of veterinarians reported removing all loose horn adjacent to the lesion without causing it to bleed, compared to 86% of hoof trimmers (P less than 0.01). Seventy-six percent of veterinarians reported routine application of a foot block to the sound (healthy) claw when treating sole ulcers compared to 86% of hoof trimmers (P less than 0.05). Topical medications for ulcers and abscessed claw horn lesions were used by 59% of veterinarians and 53% of hoof trimmers. The medication used most frequently was the powder form of tetracycline or oxytetracycline (48% by veterinarians and 81% by hoof trimmers). The majority of survey participants did not recommend withholding milk following topical treatment with tetracycline or oxytetracycline. Both survey groups agreed that sole ulcers were a painful condition, but the majority of veterinarians did not recommend analgesics for the treatment of sole ulcer lesions.
Kleinhenz, K. E., Plummer, P. J., Danielson, J., Burzette, R. G., Gorden, P. J., Coetzee, J., ... Shearer, J. K.
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Kleinhenz, Katie E||Plummer, Paul J||Danielson, Jared||Burzette, Rebecca G||Gorden, Patrick J||Coetzee, Johann||Schleining, Jennifer A||Cooper, Vickie||Leuschen, Bruce||Krull, Adam||Shearer, Leslie||Shearer, Jan K
