Validation of two measures of lameness in dairy cows

To validate two methods for detecting lameness in cows, we gait scored lame and healthy lactating cows while walking and measured the percent of weight placed on each leg while standing, before and after injections of a local anaesthetic. Before injection, healthy cows had lower gait scores than did lame cows. Lame cows placed less weight on the injured leg and placed more weight on the contralateral leg than did healthy cows. The variability in weight applied to the injured and the contralateral leg was much higher for lame cows, suggesting more frequent shifting of weight. Lidocaine injections reduced gait scores, increased the percent of weight applied to the injured leg and reduced the variability in weight applied to the injured and contralateral legs in lame cows. The system of gait scoring and the measure of weight applied to each leg were both able to detect lame cows and were both sensitive to local anaesthetic, indicating some degree of validity. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.