Wooden hoof blocks: are we using the right wood?

Figures & data

Table 1. Mean (SD) and range of weight of hoof blocks (n = 12) made of wood from flooded gum (Eucalyptus grandis), blue gum (E. globulus) and ironbark (E. crebra), density of the blocks and mean (SD) and range of dorsal and abaxial wall angles after application of the hoof block to the medial right hind claw of sound, pasture-based dairy cattle.

	Flooded gum	Blue gum	Ironbark
Weight (g)
Mean (SD)	63.8 (4.5)	93.4 (1.2)	126.5 (5.8)
Range (min, max)	58.2–71.1	92.1–94.7	119.0–134.5
Density (kg.m^3)^a	547.3	771.4	1124.3
Density classification	Low	Medium	High
Dorsal wall angle (^o)
Mean (SD)	51.5 (3.3)	52.3 (4.1)	50.7 (2.7)
Range (min, max)	44.7–57.2	41.0–57.0	47.1–55.8
Abaxial wall angle (^o)
Mean (SD)	75.8 (5.4)	78.4 (4.7)	79.4 (2.8)
Range (min, max)	62.4–85.6	62.4–85.6	76.4–86.4

^a The density of a single block of each type was measured which was selected to be near the mean weight of all blocks of that type.

Figure 1. Diagram showing measurement of the abaxial wall angle using an inclinometer. Arrows show that wear of the abaxial wall of the block increases the abaxial wall angle.

Table 2. Mean (SD) and range of days in milk, milk production and body weight of dairy cows (n = 12 per group) which had hoof blocks made of either flooded gum (Eucalyptus grandis), blue gum (E. globulus) or ironbark (E. crebra) wood applied to the medial right hind claw along with the number of cows receiving each type of block which were parity 1 or 2 or currently pregnant and which had a locomotion score (LCS) of 1 or 2.

	Flooded gum	Blue gum	Ironbark
Days in milk
Mean (SD)	221.4	208	217.3
Range (min, max)	65–335	36–420	37–341
Reproductive status
Parity 1	8	7	6
Parity 2	4	5	6
Pregnant	8	9	10
Locomotion score (1–4^a)
LCS 1	9	8	7
LCS 2	3	4	5
Body weight (kg)
Mean (SD)	647.3 (68.4)	593.8 (55.9)	608.3 (58.1)
Range (min, max)	501, 735	501, 735	506, 679
Milk production (L/d)
Mean (SD)	21.8 (4.2)	20.8 (3.7)	20.4 (3.2)

^a Locomotion scoring as described in Ranjbar (2016).

Table 3. Number of cows which had which had hoof blocks made of either flooded gum (Eucalyptus grandis), blue gum (E. globulus) or ironbark (E. crebra) wood (n = 12 per group) applied to the medial right hind claw that lost their block at different days after the start the study.

Day of study	Flooded gum	Blue gum	Ironbark
3	2	0	2
7	0	0	0
11	0	1	0
14	6	3	2
18	3	2	2
21	1	1	0
25	NR	0	0
28	NR	0	2

NR = no cows remaining in the study.

Table 4. Results of linear mixed model of height measured at three points (front, abaxial, caudal) on wooden hoof blocks, on Days 7 and 11 after application. Blocks were made of flooded gum (FG; Eucalyptus grandis; low density), blue gum (BG; E. globulus; medium density) or ironbark (IB; E. crebra; high density) wood (n = 12 per group) and applied to the medial right hind claw of dairy cows. Least square mean (LSM) estimates of the height (mm) on day 7 after application are also shown.

Measure point	Coefficient (SE)	P-value^a	LSM height (95% CI)
Front
FG	Ref		10.29 (8.62–11.97)
BG	4.82 (1.07)	<0.001	15.12 (13.65–16.59)
IB	6.12 (1.07)	<0.001	16.42 (14.96–17.88)
Days	–0.58 (0.08)	<0.001
Abaxial
FG	Ref		11.48 (9.56–13.40)
BG	3.11 (1.23)	0.019	14.60 (12.90–16.29)
IB	4.68 (1.23)	0.001	16.17 (14.49–17.85)
Days	–0.61 (0.09)	<0.001
Caudal
FG	Ref		12.17 (9.78–14.56)
BG	1.55 (1.53)	0.322	13.72 (11.62–15.83)
IB	3.77 (1.53)	0.022	15.95 (13.85–18.05)
Days	–0. 63 (0.07)	<0.001
Abaxial wall angle
FG	Ref		75.12 (72.41–77.83)
BG	4.07 (1.73)	0.028	79.20 (76.82–81.57)
IB	4.79 (1.72)	0.011	79.91 (77.58–82.25)
Days	0.13 (0.23)	0.556

^a Significance of difference in height between group or over time.

Ref = reference category.

Table 5. Results of linear mixed model of height measured at three points (front, abaxial, caudal) on wooden hoof blocks, on Days 7, 11, 14, 18, 21 and 25 after application. Blocks were made of blue gum (BG; E. globulus; medium density) or ironbark (IB; E. crebra; high density) wood (n = 12 per group) and applied to the medial right hind claw of dairy cows. Least square mean (LSM) estimates of the height (mm) on day 14 after application are also shown.

Measure point	Coefficient (SE)	P-value^a	LSM height (95% CI)
Front
BG	Ref		11.66 (10.07–13.26)
IB	1.30 (1.05)	0.236	12.96 (11.39–14.54)
Days	−0.61 (0.03)	<0.001
Abaxial
BG	Ref		11.45 (10.14–12.76)
IB	1.90 (0.87)	0.044	13.35 (12.05–14.65)
Days	−0. 54 (0.02)	<0.001
Caudal
BG	Ref		11.15 (9.60–12.69)
IB	2.13 (1.03)	0.055	13.28 (11.74–14.83)
Days	−0.48 (0.01)	<0.001
Abaxial wall angle
BG	Ref		78.56 (76.94–80.17)
IB	0.59 (1.05)	0.579	79.16 (77.61–80.71)
Days	−0.06 (0.06)	0.314

^a Significance of difference in height between group or over time.

Ref = reference category.

Table 6. Weight, density, height and surface area of commercial wooden hoof blocks sourced from Australia, United Kingdom (UK) and Iran (IR).

Block	Weight (g)	Density (kg/m^3)	Height (mm)	Surface area (cm^2)
Australia 1 (Large)	73.6	513.3	19.4	70
Australia 2 (Small)	74.8	735.7	19.4	57.5
Australia 3	73.5	727.0	18.7	50.5
Australia 4	57.7	767.3	21.8	53.5
Australia 5	113.5	714.3	22.7	79.5
Australia 6	157.2	828.6	28.3	75.5
Australia 7	134.6	1016.4	20.3	78
UK 1 (Large)	67.7	755.6	24	58
UK 2 (Small)	91.5	842.9	19.8	49
UK 3	75	709.1	23.1	55.5
UK 4	68.4	797.0	19.5	50
UK 5	78	673.9	19.8	69
UK 6	108	801.1	24.3	62
UK 7	81.2	749.1	18.9	68.5
UK 8	46.7	709.1	14.3	54.5
IR 1	62.8	784.4	22	52.5
IR 2	74.9	719.8	26.8	51.5
IR 3	62.2	672.9	21.5	53
IR 4	81.6	804.5	27.4	49.5