About Hoof Trimming. Vic Daniel Speaker of the Guild Sometimes described as an art form, sometimes as science-based, the reality of hoof trimming is the elevation of science to an art form. Both concepts must function together in harmony. Accept what you see, the animal, its' feet and legs and the environment they are exposed to as scientific evidence. Visualizing a foot shape beneficial to the animal and crafting that shape with a sharp tool is the art form. Both concepts combined create a unique discipline which is to change what you can and accept what you cannot change in the animal's foot to achieve the goal of hoof trimming. The goal of hoof trimming is to return the foot to normal shape(see Kansas Adaptation to the Dutch Flat Method)allowing the animal to regain a normal gait. The animals normality may have become undone by overgrown hooves, pain from foot afflictions, such as ulcers or laminitis. Normal is a key word now being applied not only by hoof trimmers but also researchers and breed classifiers that have adjusted their view of cattle feet from an ideal shape to a practical shape that will allow the animal to walk in a comfortable and anatomically correct fashion. Normally, ungulated (hoofed animals)animals' claws are always concave. Since the earliest mentions of hoof trimming for animal relief in the late 1880's and early 1900's the act of hoof trimming has advanced from vet and farm care to custom work by individuals in the late 1950's and 60's that would shorten the toe and concave the claw. In the 1980's bio-mechanical research of cattle was begun by E. Toussaint Raven, who was the originator of the Dutch Flat Method of trimming. This research of understanding the mechanics of the bone structure in relation to claw shape has been boon to help understand the impact of trimming. As trimmers, we reserve the right to learn and chose which application we apply to a given animal. We can do so with the confidence of years of research work available today to benefit animal well-being. This is why in 2007 the OHTG adopted the Recommended Code of Practice. One method cannot always do it all in every situation. "These two pictures show two techniques, Dutch Flat Method on the outer claw and Concave on the inner claw. The animal had not enough body in the inner claw to perform Dutch Flat so the natural concave was left to protect the heel depth. As shown in the bottom 3 pictures what matter is the support planes of the trim to make a comfortable cow". In March of 2007 on behalf of its customers a dairy consulting company posed the following question to me, "Why do hoof trimmers all seem to trim differently?" My answer basically is because hoof trimming is a subjective talent of crafting a foot to allow a normal gait for that individual animal. "Using an animal being treated for dermatitis(strawberry foot) the hoof knife is a good tool for measuring a trim". The knife can lay flat showing full support of the hoof wall from the heel to the toe. It shows the heels and toes will be square to the floor, giving balance to the bone structure of the claw, leg and spine. shows the outer claw wall is also level giving maximal support The trim is subjective to: the age of the animal, the environment, nutrition, foot afflictions, timing of the trim, and trimmer knowledge. The objectivity is an animal moving around comfortably in its respective enviroment to eat, breed and produce offspring, milk and or meat for the benefit of the farm and the public. back to issues

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