Locomotion Score 1Early identification and treatment of lame cows is essential to maintenance of sound productive animals.  A Locomotion Scoring System was developed to help simplify the task of identifying affected animals.  Locomotion Scoring is a relatively straightforward process of evaluating an animals’ back posture, both standing and walking and assigning a score of between 1 (normal posture and gait) to 5 (severely lame).  To download this program now, click on the link below.

Register and download software

More On Locomotion Scoring

University researchers have determined that cows with claw abnormalities change their back posture, as well as movement of their feet and legs, to offset pain sensation due to claw lesion insults.   This software provides a detailed report on the estimated financial impact of lame cows within a dairy operation.

Locomotion Scoring can be conducted in a wide variety of conditions; pasture, freestalls, holding or loafing areas.  Scoring should be conducted on a flat walking surface free of obstacles and debris, while providing good footing.  Many producers choose to score cows as they are moving to or from the milking center holding area.  Caution must, however, be taken to insure that cows are walking comfortably and are not being pushed. 

To identify all animals scoring 2 or higher as a means of early identification of lameness, all animals within a herd, pen or string need to be assigned a locomotion score.  However, if the objective is to assess overall herd lameness then only a representative group is needed.  University and industry researchers suggest scoring a minimum of 25 to 50% of all cows.  Caution must be applied to this task as the distribution of lame cows within a group of walking or lying cows is not random.  Simply scoring every second and fourth cow (or every second and fourth standing or lying cow) may under-represent high scores or truly lame individuals.  Routinely Locomotion Scoring the herd every 2 to 4 months can be an effective means of assessing the impact of management, environment and nutrition on overall herd lameness
   
Locomotion Scoring can serve as an early warning system for potential claw disorders.  Therefore, animals should be scored and identified as candidates for corrective trimming on a routine basis, i.e. calving, breeding, dry-off, sorting and daily milking.  Early identification, corrective trimming, attention to cow comfort and insuring proper nutrition, including complexed trace minerals, can improve overall claw health and positively affect performance and profitability.   Taking care to insure a representative group of animals within a herd, pen or string (at least 25 to 50% of the group, or 50 head) will improve the accuracy of the locomotion scores and potential outcome from the program.

System Requirements