Anyone experience this type of problem with show calf? 10 days away from OYE

[Sambosu]

My daughter's show heifer has come up injured. When the heifer walks on soft ground, I really can't see anything wrong with how she walks. As soon as she walks on hard ground, she walks on the front tip of her back left foot. She never sets it flat. She has never done anything like this and this heifer is structurally sound. I keep wondering if she slipped out in the pasture due to all the snow and ice we have had lately or if she got stepped on while laying down in the walk-in-cooler. I took her to the vet and he seems to think she has a stifle injury. I found a person that specializes in high voltage pulsed electro magnetic frequency therapy and she came out Sunday and treated her. She also thinks she sustained some type of injury to either her stifle or hip due to how inflamed the muscles were. I have a chiropractor coming out tomorrow to look at her. We only have 10 days until we load her up for OYE and she is one that has a chance to win her class and breed if she walks like normal. Anyone else experience this before? If so, what was the diagnosis?

 

[chambero]

My bet is a stone bruise (unless she actually has something i.e. a nail in the bottom of her hoof).

If it was higher up, I don't think soft ground would make a difference.

Short answer is keep her off hard ground.

I could tell a long story about a Fort Worth steer we had three years ago that had one so bad I never washed him at the show till the morning of.  He sucked it up on the sand in the ring and never gave a hint anything was wrong.  Wound up 4th in Class 10.  Limped all the way back to the stall.

 

[Sambosu]

Well if that is the case, at least she will walk on soft dirt out in the arena when she is shown. Thanks for the reply. The vet laid her on her side in his chute and looked at her foot and tested her for hoof rot. The heifer didn't react when he used the tool to squeeze the hoof.

 

[ba]

Stone bruise or abscess. Had that 10 before fair. Vet could not find it and we  soaked it in Epsom salts in a bucket of warm water in the groom chute . Had Vet back and found abscess at the hair line on top of the hoof .He lanced it ; let the pressure off 2 days before we went in and she didn't miss a beat.  Soaked it for better than 2 weeks twice a day

 

[Showin a Shorty]

We had a similar thing happen with our heifer a couple years ago. She had an abscess in her one toe. The vet cleaned it out and got her fixed up. Problem was she was still walking oddly off of it and state fair was 3 days away, so we call our hoof trimmer. He put her up and put a block on the other toe on that foot to keep the pressure off of her sore toe. Worked like a charm, you couldn't tell anything was wrong...except when she walked in the sand she left a little block print! LOL She won the show so it must not have affected her too badly!

 

[Sambosu]

I had the heifer treated with high voltage pulsed electro magnetic frequency therapy yesterday. She said it works great on abscesses so we treated her hoof as well. I will try to tie her hoof up today when the chiropractor is there and see if I can see an abscess anywhere. Keeping our fingers crossed that she will be ok by OYE and waiting literally three days to actually show. Heifer has to be in place by 10pm Friday the 13th but is the last breed to show Monday. I am now wanting some suggestions on creating the best bedding possible for her at OYE. I am going to start a new post regarding bedding.

 

[renegadelivestock]

Try wrapping the foot with animalintex it is available at most feed mills and tack stores. When you are at the show spray all four of her feet with pinesol

 

[Tallcool1]

Put some LA200 on some gauze.  Put it between her toes.  Wrap with vet wrap.  Take it off the next morning.

I think that you will probably get along just fine because you are aggressively trying to make her comfortable.  Something is going to do the trick.

Good Luck!

 

[Sambosu]

Interesting information Tallcool1. Your advice regarding LA200 and gauze sounds simple enough. I will have to try that.

Renegadelivestock your post regarding Pinesol caught my attention.  What or how does Pinesol help?

 

[renegadelivestock]

Pinesol does two things. It hardens the feet, thus taking some of the sensitivity out. It also helps kill bacteria and prevent infection from re-occurring. Plus it makes your stall smell good. Lol. That's an added bonus

 

[Boot Jack Bulls]

Pine Tar! I grew up using it on our horses religiously, and have found that if you can get close enough to paint it on, it works wonders on cattle. We use it on anything with soft horn (light hooves), cracks, abscesses, etc. It cheap and effective. I would not use it so close to a show though, since it works best if you get a good amount over the cornet band and up into the hair, and it nearly impossible to clean out. They will have clean, healthy, shiny looking hooves in about a week though!

 

[sizzler14]

Completely agree with pine tar. Before you put it on, soak her foot in turpentine and then add the pine tar! Also rub listerine on her legs each day. Old race horse tricks are always the best

 

[Boot Jack Bulls]

Completely agree with pine tar. Before you put it on, soak her foot in turpentine and then add the pine tar! Also rub listerine on her legs each day. Old race horse tricks are always the best

Yes sir! My siblings and I grew up with a baby sitter who was a track barn rat.....oh the stories!

 

[renegadelivestock]

Completely agree with pine tar. Before you put it on, soak her foot in turpentine and then add the pine tar! Also rub listerine on her legs each day. Old race horse tricks are always the best

Yes sir! My siblings and I grew up with a baby sitter who was a track barn rat.....oh the stories!

Whole Heartedly agree that this is effective, I'm a track barn rat myself, but it is also almost impossible to get pine tar out of leg hair and would make her difficult to fit. The listening will make her legs tingle and might make her kicky or hard Blue are clip

 

[Boot Jack Bulls]

Impossible to get out is an understatement! Works well as a maintenance routine during off season though....