The incidence in some herds is negligible and in other herds may be as high as 50 percent or more. A survey in Great Britain showed the annual Incidence of dairy cow lameness to be 5.5 percent.
Heredity plays a significant role in cattle lameness.
There are rare abnormalities such as syndactyly, or mule foot. More frequent in occurrence is poor conformation which predisposes cattle to lameness. Conformation weaknesses may result in slowly progressive lameness problems, particularly when cows are kept in an environment that puts stress on feet and legs. Examples of such environments are slatted floors or slippery, free-stall confinement housing. Nutrition can have an influence on cattle lameness.