As would be expected, there was large farm to farm variation, which indicates that management makes a big difference. Similar incidence figures have been reported from Florida but the summer incidence was higher than winter. Normal Anatomy and Function S ince most bovine lameness occurs in the foot we will concentrate on the foot and how to keep it functional for the cow. By understanding the normal anatomy and function of the cow's foot we can keep the foot functional and prevent many of the lameness problems. Figure 1 shows the normal anatomy of the bovine foot.
Lameness is a multifactorial disease and is directly related to how cows are managed.
T he foot is the part of the limb below the fetlock. This would correspond to human fingers and toes. The shinbones in cattle are the metacarpals on the front legs and the metatarsals on the rear legs. The foot is divided into two digits and the ends of the digits are called claws or hooves and are surrounded by horny capsules. The proximal and middle phalanges are outside of the claw and the distal phalanx and navicular bones are inside the claw.