Your livestock’s feet are critical to their ability to thrive. Often, feet are overlooked as a source for many of the problems that they might be experiencing – and that can have a huge economic impact on your farm.

 

At Massie Veterinary Services, we want to help your herd be successful with corrective and preventative podiatry care. Problems associated with hooves can include weight loss, decreased reproduction rates, and increased risk for Bovine Respiratory Disease for cattle.

 

Lameness is one of the most common ways that these problems manifest. Lameness can vary from severe cases associated with fractures of hoof abscesses to subtle hoof issues which can cause pain and a decline in health.

 

A lameness investigation includes a thorough examination of both the level of lameness and the legs affected. Palpation of leg, hoof testers, and flexion tests are used initially, but if there is no obvious cause, then nerve blocks may be administered to localize the problem and further investigations using our state-of-the-art VetRay, high-end digital radiology, or ultrasound methods may be necessary. Some cattle may require referral for specialized tests such as scintigraphy (bone-scanning) or MRI and we will advise you if these are required. 

 

Goat owners, check out this video for how to properly care for your goat's hooves. Contact us at 541-636-1191 to schedule a lameness investigation or podiatry appointment today.