Cow Pedicure

There comes a time in everyone's life when a new hairstyle and a pedicure are essential. Considering the current financial climate now is probably that time! So it is with cows, although their bank balance is probably in better shape than ours. Recently, we've noticed that our momma cows' toes were definitely in need of some filing and buffing. They were beginning to lengthen and we knew it was time to schedule an appointment with a pedicurist, sorry, a cow hoof trimmer. Seriously, cow hoof care is extremely important in cows. Improper or insufficient trimming can put put stress on joints and cause serious lameness. Foot and leg problems are major causes of loss in dairy cattle, mainly because being herbivores their preferred surface is pasture rather than concrete

Unlike horse's hooves, bovine hooves grow slowly, especially if the bulk of their diet is forage. They require trimming only once or twice a year, depending on diet and housing. It has been customary to secure the cows on a tilt table, then tip the cow and table combination slowly over to allow the trimmer to reach the hooves. Good for the trimmer but not so good for the cow as cows generally aren't wild about tipping over on to their sides and normally try to avoid this sort of thing. Fortunately, for our mommas we had heard about a local trimmer with a trimming box that kept them upright, and we scheduled an appointment.
Sunday was the big day and Ray (our new trimmer) arrived in the morning with his box. Looking like something out of H. G. Well's "Time Machine", our first impression of this contraption was that the cows aren't going to like this! Never mind, if the cows were unhappy with it, we'd just take a short vacation to some earlier time when we weren't discussing hundred billion dollar bailouts and people in other countries didn't think we were all profligate nincompoops. We could spend a few minutes dumping our AIG stock, buy up some Google and be back before lunch.

Disappointingly, this Tardis was not able to send us hurtling through time a la Dr. Who, and fortunately our mommas, as always, behaved like perfect ladies. It was just dandy for gently restraining our girls and supporting their weight so that Ray could trim and shape their hooves quickly and with little drama. The cows walked in one end, were placed in safe restraints, the box was lifted hydraulically off the ground, their feet were raised one at a time, they were trimmed and shaped, the box was lowered and the cows were then led out of the exit. The entire process was gentle and efficient.

We considered the white tips so fashionable these days, perhaps with an "Old Glory" motif, but common sense prevailed and we settled for a good filing and cleaning. Now, both girls are sporting new, sexy tootsies. And we are still watching the progress of the bailout on the news. But you can't have everything.



Posted by Tom and Jorg