Older dairy farmers who used to work with horses know the term laminitis. Its incidence isn't fully appreciated, because laminitis isn't a contagious disease like mastitis or tuberculosis. Laminitis occurs as a consequence of management, especially nutritional management, often in the better herds, and to a large extent, it's preventable. It has been established that laminitis in dairy cows is the result of many factors. Nutrition is the dominant one.
Cows show various signs of difficult and painful walking behavior.
Blood spots, hemorrhage, open sores and discoloration of the hoof, sole, claw and between the claws are visible. Also, the sole is softer, wears more and injures more easily against hard pointed objects, stones and pebbles. Lameness is usually not just simple foot injury, although the condition is aggravated by a sloppy, wet environment. Evidence indicates that the symptoms of laminitis lameness are first and foremost the result of inappropriate changes in the rumen of dairy cows, mostly in high-producing cows. Thus, laminitis is among the preventable management diseases, better called disorders, such as ketosis, milk fever, enterotoxemia, parakeratosis and low milk fat syndrome.