Post by eljay on Jan 15, 2013 11:57:58 GMT -5
Richard Olson was out last Saturday to trim Summer's feet. I took a lot of pictures so we could show you the process.
Before
This is Summer's bad foot before any work.
Richard: Notice the lumpy spot on the heel of the right claw. That is overgrowth of the sole.
The outside toe is the one with the problem. She has laminitis in this toe.
This is the tool that Richard is about to use on her foot.
Richard: This is a rotoclip tool. This tool is really best used by professionals. You can injure the cow's foot or yourself easily.
You can start to see the bad spot on the bottom of her toe.
Here it is.
Richard: This is a sore spot. Summer's got a lot of miles on her. Once a cow's had an injury on a typical spot like where my finger is it can flare up again. Sometimes they don't heal at all, ever. There's too much damage done to the blood vein. This is the most common injury on the heel of the outside toe, usually in rear feet. The callous in the 3rd picture from the top is the sole trying to protect the injury. We remove that lump and it takes the pressure off the inner toe bone inside the claw.
Now Richard switches to this tool to continue.
Richard: This is a "Normal Hooftrimming disc" sold by Animart.com. Professional use recommended.
The bad spot it a lot smaller than when I got her in Sept. of 2011. It was about the size of a quarter then. The last block fell off about a month ago. Richard asked me how she was on the bad foot. She walks pretty well on it, but when she stands all her weight rests on the other leg. Because of that she still needs a block on her good toe to take the pressure off the bad one.
Richard: This calcification/scar tissue will most likely continue to grow.
Here's the foot all cleaned and ready for the block.
This is what is used to attach the block to the toe.
Richard: This can be purchased as a single unit for one block in a smaller tube from Animart.com for around $25. You can get a kit that includes the block and the glue. Applying the glue works best at room temperature - 80*. There's a heat lamp inside my tool box that I kept the glue warm, about 80*. It works at lower temps but it takes longer and you have to use the heat gun longer.
Now he goes to work on the other feet while the glue dries.
This is the front left. I forget what this crack is called.
Richard: This is the front left foot and she has a hoof wall crack. It can be compared to a hangnail on your finger. These can cause severe lameness, but most break off naturally.
A couple shots of in between the toes on the front left.
The finished foot next to the one still waiting to be done.
Richard: Notice the left toe that hoof wall crack is corrected. Now this prevents further tearing into the corium.
Using a heat gun to finish the drying on the block.
Done with that foot.
A view from the front...
Richard: This is her right rear foot. Notice just above the left claw there is some swelling. This is probably the calcified joints inside her foot. You see that the block elevates the sore toe taking weight off of it.
Now to start on the left rear.
Richard: This is Summer's left rear foot. Notice the overgrown hoof just underneath my knife. We remove this to balance her heels so that when she stands flat on the ground both toes support equal weight. That lump, if not removed could also become an ulcer like her right foot was.
Notice the dark and light spots on the bottom of the toe. I thought it might be an indication of trouble, but Richard says it's just a Jersey foot and that this is normal for them.
Richard: This picture shows where I corrected her foot by removing the lump of overgrown hoof on the outside toe.
A shot that shows the double edged hoof knife he uses.
The front right foot...
Done!
And now a picture of the two stars together.
Before
This is Summer's bad foot before any work.
Richard: Notice the lumpy spot on the heel of the right claw. That is overgrowth of the sole.
The outside toe is the one with the problem. She has laminitis in this toe.
This is the tool that Richard is about to use on her foot.
Richard: This is a rotoclip tool. This tool is really best used by professionals. You can injure the cow's foot or yourself easily.
You can start to see the bad spot on the bottom of her toe.
Here it is.
Richard: This is a sore spot. Summer's got a lot of miles on her. Once a cow's had an injury on a typical spot like where my finger is it can flare up again. Sometimes they don't heal at all, ever. There's too much damage done to the blood vein. This is the most common injury on the heel of the outside toe, usually in rear feet. The callous in the 3rd picture from the top is the sole trying to protect the injury. We remove that lump and it takes the pressure off the inner toe bone inside the claw.
Now Richard switches to this tool to continue.
Richard: This is a "Normal Hooftrimming disc" sold by Animart.com. Professional use recommended.
The bad spot it a lot smaller than when I got her in Sept. of 2011. It was about the size of a quarter then. The last block fell off about a month ago. Richard asked me how she was on the bad foot. She walks pretty well on it, but when she stands all her weight rests on the other leg. Because of that she still needs a block on her good toe to take the pressure off the bad one.
Richard: This calcification/scar tissue will most likely continue to grow.
Here's the foot all cleaned and ready for the block.
This is what is used to attach the block to the toe.
Richard: This can be purchased as a single unit for one block in a smaller tube from Animart.com for around $25. You can get a kit that includes the block and the glue. Applying the glue works best at room temperature - 80*. There's a heat lamp inside my tool box that I kept the glue warm, about 80*. It works at lower temps but it takes longer and you have to use the heat gun longer.
Now he goes to work on the other feet while the glue dries.
This is the front left. I forget what this crack is called.
Richard: This is the front left foot and she has a hoof wall crack. It can be compared to a hangnail on your finger. These can cause severe lameness, but most break off naturally.
A couple shots of in between the toes on the front left.
The finished foot next to the one still waiting to be done.
Richard: Notice the left toe that hoof wall crack is corrected. Now this prevents further tearing into the corium.
Using a heat gun to finish the drying on the block.
Done with that foot.
A view from the front...
Richard: This is her right rear foot. Notice just above the left claw there is some swelling. This is probably the calcified joints inside her foot. You see that the block elevates the sore toe taking weight off of it.
Now to start on the left rear.
Richard: This is Summer's left rear foot. Notice the overgrown hoof just underneath my knife. We remove this to balance her heels so that when she stands flat on the ground both toes support equal weight. That lump, if not removed could also become an ulcer like her right foot was.
Notice the dark and light spots on the bottom of the toe. I thought it might be an indication of trouble, but Richard says it's just a Jersey foot and that this is normal for them.
Richard: This picture shows where I corrected her foot by removing the lump of overgrown hoof on the outside toe.
A shot that shows the double edged hoof knife he uses.
The front right foot...
Done!
And now a picture of the two stars together.