Sharing expertise & knowledge on hoof care advancements
Should Your Hoof Products List Include Formalin?
Adding formalin (also known as formaldehyde) to the foot bath is believed to make hooves harder. But when lameness is an issue, hoof hardness doesn’t always matter. Before adding formalin to your hoof products shopping list, consider all variables. Our dairy producers...
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The ABC Chart: your guide to the dairy hoof diseases galaxy
When you own a dairy herd, maintaining its hoof health is a constant challenge. However, we have some great news for you: there are ways to control and contain the impact of lameness. To begin with, you have a variety of great products at your disposal to tackle this...
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The Case for Keeping Hoof Trimming Records
They say keeping records is essential for progress. Does it hold true for keeping track of what happened on hoof trimming day? I say, it sure does! Let me explain. As a hoof trimmer, I used paper copies to share the results of my hoof trimming visit with the...
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Hoof Trimmers and Veterinarians Can Work Better Together
Dairy producers rely on a number of professionals to help them day in and day out. While each professional works closely with the producer, more and more farms are learning that benefits can be gained when those professionals collaborate with one another. Hoof...
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Trade shows: the ultimate place to mingle and learn
At Diamond Hoof Care, we are very serious about our presence at dairy trade shows. After all, such visits are central to achieving our primary purpose - to help farmers when hoof health problems assault their herds. For this reason, we make it a point to attend...
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Managing the Heat Stress in Your Herd
As a professional hoof trimmer, I have experienced days so hot that I wished I had a swimming pool nearby to dive into. This summer has seen excruciating high temperatures in Western Canada, with temperatures in Alberta hitting 40 degrees Celsius! We read a lot about...
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“For the Record”: Hoof Trimmers Gathering in Ontario
Our industry is getting another great chance for a pro get-together. The Ontario Hoof Trimmers Guild (OHTG) is organizing a hoof care conference on August 24-25, 2018 in Guelph, ON. Generally speaking, OHTG events aim to provide continuing education to...
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Hoof trimming chutes to handle lameness
Hoof trimming chutes: assets that get the job done I think we can all agree that lame cows are a source of frustration and anxiety. Besides, hoof trimming is quite the chore. When we milk our cows, we get help from neat parlour facilities and milking robots. It is a...
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Four hoof experts share tips on hoof wrapping
Wrapping has been around for years as a way of dealing with hoof problems. The purpose of applying wraps varies between farmers and hoof trimmers. Some apply wraps to keep manure away from the wound. Others use it to keep the product on the hoof for an extended period...
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Concrete Flooring: Chat with Tom Woodall of AGRI-TRAC™
It’s difficult getting the dairy barn floor right, isn’t it? Say you go with concrete flooring, which is by far the most popular choice. While durable and easy to clean, it’s also the most unforgiving surface for cows. Make it too abrasive and you’ll speed up hoof...
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Talking with Australian lameness expert Peter Best
Lameness is a problem no dairy farmer can handle alone. As we at Diamond Hoof Care keep saying, hoof health should be a collective industry effort. That is, it should involve education, training, and knowledge sharing. Peter Best, an Australian lameness prevention and...
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Forage banking: no worries over summer feed supplies
As we all know, summer is a very busy time on the farm. It’s also a time when feed supplies get scarce and metabolic stress in cows is more common. In my hoof-trimming days, I had a client who told me that a “forage bank” had helped him eliminate stress on his farm....
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Slippery barn floors? Water to the rescue!
Slippery barn floors can make it quite the challenge to keep your cows on all fours. Concrete surfaces become smooth over time because of general wear. On hot summer days, floors caked with manure can lead to cow accidents and harm. The manure seems to just stick to...
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Sand bedding: does it increase lameness?
Have you wondered whether your switch to sand bedding might be increasing lameness in your dairy herd? If so, you’re not alone in having such thoughts. As one producer recently told me, they converted to sand bedding about a year ago, and it seems as if their lameness...
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Modelling: factors to consider in hoof trimming
Are you a dairy producer who learned the basics of hoof trimming at home? I mean, perhaps your father taught you. He may have told you that the sole of the hoof needs full “dishing out” because this is the hoof form we see in pasture cows in their natural environment....
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How often should I trim my cows?
Today’s burning question: hoof trimming frequency If you ask five people how often your herd requires hoof trimming, you may end up with six opinions. OK, that’s probably stretching it a bit but the fact remains that opinions on this matter vary greatly. When dairy...
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When To Treat a Lame Cow?
Speed: your ally in keeping lameness at bay You wake up one morning and do the routine check on your cows. You notice that one of them is showing signs of lameness. Do you then start wondering what would be the best time to check her out? I often hear this question...
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Munich: host for the 2017 Lameness Conference
Welcome to Munich In September, Munich will be hosting the 19th International Symposium and 11th International Conference on Lameness in Ruminants. The famous German city will play host to the biannual event for this time. Experts in cattle health, production systems,...
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Hoof blocking: what you need to know
Apart from being a scourge for cows, lameness can cause a great economic loss for you, the farmer. Hoof blocking generally is an effective method of hoof care. You should keep in mind, however, that it isn’t perfect. Whenever lameness rears its ugly head, the herdsman...
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Tools That Make Hoof Trimming Easier
When the subject of hoof care arises, I often hear dairy producers complain about trimming. They tell me they already have too many chores on their daily lists. Then they go on to add that lameness treatments and hoof trimming aren’t their top priority. Besides taking...
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A Wet Spring and its Impact on Lameness in Cows
A dairy producer recently told me they had a wet spring in their area. This left its mark on the hoof condition of his herd. The farm had its fair share of lameness, and he wanted to know how often they should run their footbath. In preparing to provide the...
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Lameness Control Strategies: Prevention vs Treatment
I’m sure you’ve run into lameness challenges in the past – or perhaps you’re currently facing some challenges? Or maybe they’re looming around the corner, but you’re not aware of them yet. Let’s take a closer look at the different approaches and checks we need to have...
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3 factors causing excess pressure in the hoof of a dairy cow
Review on the webinar hosted by AHDB Dairy by Prof. Jon Huxley: Watch on YouTube Every farmer has had to deal with lameness in cattle at some point. The successful ones aim to prevent and control it by following innovation in the industry. Luckily, we live in a...
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Overview of the Cattle Footbath Method on Dairy Farms
A producer recently approached me after starting to question the ultimate success rate of the footbath method and wondering how to measure the Return on Investment (ROI). He felt frustrated and overwhelmed: he had used the footbath frequently and still had an...
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Seven Tips for the Best Time Management
Lack of time is the number one reason for not having a preventative hoof care plan in place on our farms. However, some farmers have found a way to do all their daily chores plus implement a hoof care plan. Their key to success: time management. How do they do it?...
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Intracare BV Hoof-fit Gel Non-Antibiotic Medication for Cattle
Press release February 25, 2016. Intracare BV produces Hoof-fit Gel: the first Canadian non-antibiotic medication for hoof care in dairy cows. Health Canada DIN 02441284 Dairy farms in Canada have been struggling to control lameness—a major cause of economic losses...
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Where Can I Find a Hoof Trimmer?
"WANTED: hoof trimmers! Please contact!" Hoof trimmers are an essential part of dairy cows’ performance. They, myself included, often hear something like the following from dairy farmers: "Keeping up with hoof trimming my cows has been a challenge over the past ten...
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Possible antibiotic residues and claw lesions
Residues becoming a concern? Antibiotic residues has been on the radar for a while. Does it really affect our dairy herds and consumable products? Read on, it's proven to be a potential hazard. Claw lesions, such as those due to Digital Dermatitis (DD, Hairy Heel...
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Dairy cow lameness: Foot rot vs. Hoof rot
The term foot rot or "hoof rot" is one that might be used on your farm to describe a sore foot. Before explaining the disorder itself, let's first check whether Google can shed some light on the definition. Actually, none can be found when using "hoof rot" to refer to...
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