Lameness in Cattle

Preface
Bovine Lameness

J.K. Shearer, DVM, MS

Editor

It is a distinct honor for me to serve as Guest Editor for this issue of the Veterinary
Clinics of North America: Food Animal Practice on Bovine Lameness. As many may
know, I am following in the footsteps of Dr David Anderson, who served as Guest Editor
for the first issue devoted entirely to bovine lameness published in 2001. As a bovine
practitioner in the 1970s, I will admit that the treatment of lameness was one of my least
favorite tasks. It was hard work, sometimes dangerous, and always took longer than I
felt it should; all of which created a dilemma when attempting to calculate a proper fee
for the service rendered. Looking back, I am sure that I could have improved my effi-
ciency and effectiveness had my hoof knife been sharper and had I known of the ben-
efits an angle grinder offers when trimming feet or correcting claw lesions. I have also
often thought of how much more I might have enjoyed working with lameness had I
better understood its pathogenesis and better ways of treating lameness conditions.
For the past 30 years, I have focused the majority of my professional life and career
on bovine lameness. So much has changed since the 1970s. I credit much of my re-
newed enthusiasm, and most certainly, my understanding of lameness to insight I
have gained from colleagues both here in North America and throughout the world.
Few diseases rival lameness in terms of cost or impact on the welfare of affected an-
imals. Based on the work of Dr Chuck Guard from Cornell University, losses associated
with a single case of clinical lameness conservatively approach $500, surpassing
nearly all other disease conditions including clinical mastitis. Lameness is the manifes-
tation of pain associated with disease or injury to the foot or proximal limb. Studies on
the prevalence of lameness indicate that on average nearly one in every four animals
on US dairies is affected. In recent years, the emergence of fatigue cattle syndrome
and growing problems with digital dermatitis in feedlot cattle has generated a greater
interest in lameness of beef cattle. Moreover, unlike many disorders for which thera-
peutic intervention provides prompt relief, the disability and pain associated with

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lameness often lingers for weeks despite effective treatment. Without a doubt, lame-
ness is clearly one of the most important health and welfare issues in cattle.
Lameness is an immense subject; therefore, the greatest challenge is determining
what information is likely to be most critical to the day-to-day work of veterinary prac-
titioners. Veterinarians play a key role as advisors, and many provide specific treat-
ment to lame cows. With this in mind, I attempted to find a balance between
providing the kind of information that would assist practitioners in solving herd prob-
lems and yet still address the needs of those looking for technical information on
proper foot care and treatment practices. For example, treatment options for organic
dairies are quite different compared with those in conventional dairy systems. Simi-
larly, pain management is a fundamental component of nearly all therapeutic regimens
and particularly in the case of lameness; however, there are no drugs approved for
analgesia in cattle. Therefore, a discussion of pain assessment and management
associated with lameness has been included.
As I conclude my comments, I want to express my sincere gratitude to all who
answered the call to author or coauthor an article. I am deeply indebted to each
one. It is my hope that readers will find the information herein informative and useful
in their day-to-day work as veterinary practitioners. I also want to acknowledge
Dr Robert A. Smith, Consulting Editor, and Meredith Madeira, Developmental Editor,
for their guidance and assistance during the editorial process. Finally, I want to
acknowledge my wife, Leslie, the unsung hero behind all that I do, for her unwavering
support.

J.K. Shearer, DVM, MS

Department of Veterinary Diagnostic
and Production Animal Medicine
Iowa State University
College of Veterinary Medicine
2436 Lloyd Vet Med Center
Ames, IA 50011-1250, USA
E-mail address:
jks@iastate.edu