Preventive hoof trimming in dairy cattle: Determining current practices and identifying future research areas.

BACKGROUND

The extent to which preventive hoof trimming is implemented on Great Britain's (GB) dairy farms is unknown. The aims of this study were to determine common practices and capture producers' input on key areas that require further research.

METHODS

An online survey was conducted over a 4-week period from March to April 2017.

RESULTS

A total of 338 valid survey responses were received. The majority of farmers undertook preventive hoof trimming (82.4%), and this was significantly positively associated with increased herd yield (p < 0.001). Drying off was the most common time trimming was undertaken, with 72.2% of farmers who implemented preventive trimming doing so at this point in the management cycle. Of those undertaking preventive trimming, 46.4% solely used an external hoof trimmer, 31.7% solely used farm staff and the remainder (21.9%) used a combination of operators. Four over-arching themes were identified within the key research questions; when to trim, why we should trim, how to trim and who to trim. The most frequent questions related to optimal trimming timing, frequency and method.

CONCLUSION

This study highlighted that preventive hoof trimming is a widespread practice on GB dairy farms, undertaken by both external hoof trimmers and farm staff. Despite this, farmers still want to know when they should undertake preventive hoof trimming and which technique they should use.