Abstract
Hoof overgrowth in commercial housed dairy goats is a major health and welfare concern; thus, it is important to better understand hoof trimming, a priority practice which addresses hoof growth. We evaluated the immediate effects of trimming on external conformation, internal joint positions, and hoof wall overgrowth of front and hind hooves. Eighty female goats were enrolled. Pre and post hoof trimming data were collected at 13, 17, 21 and 25 months of age. Overall, before trimming, a high percentage of hooves were scored as overgrown (77.8%). Trimming decreased the percentage of overgrown hooves (17.6%: P < 0.001) and other moderate/severe conformational issues: dipped heels (49.3% vs. 26.7; P < 0.001), misshaped claws (37.0% vs. 17.6%; P < 0.001), splayed claws (73.7% vs. 56.7%; P < 0.001). More hind than front hooves had dipped heels pre-trimming and (91.3% vs. 7.3%; P < 0.001) and post-trimming (52.8% vs. 0.6%; P < 0.001); over half of the hind heels were not restored to an upright position. A greater proportion of toe length was removed from the hind hooves compared to the front (0.50 vs. 0.43, P < 0.001), with the greatest proportion of hoof wall overgrowth removed from the hind hoof medial claw at the 13-month assessment (P < 0.001). Following trimming, distal interphalangeal joint angle decreased more in hind compared to front hooves (11.0° vs. 6.9°; P < 0.001); distal interphalangeal joint height decreased (0.21 cm, P < 0.001), and proximal interphalangeal joint, and heel, angles increased (7.76° and 8.93°, respectively; P < 0.001). Trimming did not restore conformation of all hooves when trimmed every 4 months, suggesting a need to investigate reasons for underlying poor conformation, including trimming frequency.
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Data availability
The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
Funding for the research and the student stipend was provided by the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (Wellington, New Zealand) and the Dairy Goat Cooperative Ltd. (Hamilton, New Zealand). Special thanks are given to the participating Dairy Goat Cooperative farmer. The authors are grateful for the assistance provided by AgResearch staff, especially Ali Cullum for completing all the hoof trimming and hoof growth measurements. In addition, the authors thank Alex Leander and staff at the Waikato Equine Veterinary Centre (Cambridge, New Zealand) for taking the radiographs. Finally, we wish to gratefully acknowledge the insight of Dr Emmanuel Lara Castro, whose experience with large goat herd management seeded the idea of examining hoof care in more detail.
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Conceptualization: L.D, G.Z; Methodology: L.D, G.Z; Formal analysis: L.D, N.C; Writing—original draft preparation: L.D; Writing—review and editing: L.D, G.Z, N.B, K.S, J.W.
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The study was approved by AgResearch Ltd, Ruakura Animal Ethics Committee (#13686, approved 17/12/2015).
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Deeming, L.E., Beausoleil, N.J., Stafford, K.J. et al. Evaluating the immediate effects of hoof trimming on dairy goat hoof conformation and joint positions. Vet Res Commun 48, 1073–1082 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-023-10273-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-023-10273-0