Prevalence and classification of foot problems in lactating dairy cows in Belo Horizonte, Brazil

The prevalence and classification of clinical foot problems of 469 lactating daily cows were studied in 10 farms in the dairy region of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, managed in confinement systems. A total of 142 cows were considered affected and presented 534 lesions. The prevalence of affected cows was 30.3%, being 66.7% in the hind feet and 33.3% in the fore feet, with no difference between outer claw (49.2%) and inner claw (50.7%). The classification according to lameness showed, 105 animals classified as score I, 9 as score 2, 15 as score 3, 7 as score 4 and 6 as score 5. Age of cow influenced the prevalence of lesions, but no effect of lactation stage was observed. The most frequent lesion was horn erosion representing 48.5% of the total, followed by interdigital dermatitis (13.5%) and septic pododermatitis (9.6%).