Steer is limping for the third time, doesn't seem to heal..any advice

[Sambosu]

My daughters prospect steer has been having nothing but problems with its feet ever since we had his hooves trimmed back on the 30th of June.  I know white hooves are softer than black hooves but I have owned others and they never had this kind of trouble.  

I have soaked his foot numerous times with epson salt/water mixture and followed it with a anti-fungal spray.  Also go some stuff from the vet to help with inflammation.  He hurt it originally the same day he had his hooves trimmed.  When I walked him from the trailer into the pasture, he stood on a rock and immediately started limping.  It took two weeks for him to get over that (get around pretty normally).  I took him to the vet to get his scurs cut off on the 21st of July and the day afterwards he was limping again but not as bad as the first time he hurt his foot.  Yesterday, I noticed him lowering his head everytime he took a step with his back right foot and laying down a lot.  Not sure if I am not feeding him all the minerals he needs for his hooves or what.  

My vet is on vacation until this weekend.  I plan on taking him to the vet Saturday and put him on a trimming table so we can look at his feet better and see what seems to be the root cause for this problem.   If you have any advice I would appreciate it.  I am thinking about putting him in our walk in cooler so he doesn't walk much and can stand on a soft bedding after the vet treats him.

 

[herfluvr]

feel for you. Had a steer trimmed we were heading to jr nationals with only to have the trimmer who we had used before trim him so bad it took 6 weeks for him to be grown out enough to level him and fix the problem.  Putting him the table is the best bet to see what is going on.  Ask the vet about a feed through biotin product to help grow hoof.  A farrier will have a product called Dura Sole.  It can be put on the sole  of the hooves to toughen them.  Iodine is the main ingredient.  If there is an abcess that has not popped that you find with the vet a good soak boot to make is take a tire innertube.  Cut in half.  Slip the foot halfway down the tube leaving half to flip up.  Needs to be tall enough so you can duct tape around the leg above the dew claws and joint.  Fill with warmest water tolerable and and epsom salts and leave on for about 12 hours.  Drain and check the foot.  Repeat as necessary to get it the rupture.  The abcess might not come out of the bottem but out the top where the leg meets the hoof.  Also if it is an abcess don't give anti-inflammatories as it slows the process of the abcess coming to a head.  you need the heat for it to burst.

 

[DL]

The best thing you can do for this steer is exactly what you are planning to do - get him on the table and examine his feet - how does he respond to hoof testers?  if he has an abscess or a bruise it should be pealed out. If there are no abnormalities in/on his feet then start looking elsewhere - is it swollen or hot near the coronary band? swollen and or draining btwn the toes? are the heels soft etc- if it is not the foot and not the lower leg go up - most lameness in cattle is a result of something with the foot/sole - but not all. Have his feet been wetter than normal (ie standing in water or wet bedding) - that can make his feet more susceptible to injury; excessive dryness can also make a foot more susceptible to injury. Is there a chance that when he stood on the rock after trimming he actually stuck a foreign body into his foot (nail, staple, screw, wood splinter etc and that travel to the vet in a trailer and then standing in the chute aggravated it ??)  I would not do anything until I looked at the bottom of his feet...

 

[Sambosu]

Thanks herfluvr and DL.  Wet hooves isn't the issue for sure because the weather here has been extremely hot and extremely dry here for the last month and a half.  Also, when I wet him down I clean out his hooves with water and feel all over his leg down to his hooves, I haven't noticed any swelling.  I am very interested to see if something actually go stuck in his foot when he hurt it originally.  Without having him on the table, the one thing I noticed peculiar about his hooves is it seems the split between his hooves is an inch or so higher than it should be.  Also was thinking he might have thrown his hip out of whack due to how bad he was walking for two weeks after he hurt his foot the first time.  I have a animal chiropractor coming over today to look over his alignment this evening.  I sure hate having to wait for three more days to see the vet but none of the others around have a table.   

 

[DL]

the one thing I noticed peculiar about his hooves is it seems the split between his hooves is an inch or so higher than it should be. 

not sure what you mean by this? are you saying the heel is real low and it throws the claw separation up or that the distal part of the toes (ie the ends) are thick so the claws ride higher?? picture?? actually a picture of his feet would be great - side, front and back

 

[firesweepranch]

We had some friends that had a similar problem. No hoof trimming, but the heifer came up lame periodically. Never a consistent limp. They finally took x-rays and found a metal tooth from a comb lodged in her hoof! It was so small, you could not see it on examination, and had worked itself up so that it hurt when she stepped on it a certain way. Once the metal tooth was removed, she cleared right up and no lame step after!

 

[Sambosu]

Hard to explain, so I attached a picture of a hoof with an arrow pointing at the area that I think could be causing the problem. The picture is not one of my calves just found it online.  I think the gap between his toes continues up past the top of his hooves by about an inch and is causing the pain.  Not sure though, maybe this is normal.

 

[j3cattleco]

Could it be foot rot?  We have more trouble with this in dry times for some reason.  If that crack smells awful it could be foot rot. 

Joshua

 

[Sambosu]

I haven't noticed a smell, but at this time, I won't rule anything out until a vet looks at him on a table.  Really need this calf to get to feeling better so he can start gaining weight again.  Sure need to be able to get him finished for OYE.  I weighed him the other day and he weighs about 100 pounds less than the other steer in the same pen.  He has had to deal with a lot more stress than that calf though (hurt his foot three times and had to be de-horned). 

 

[LindseysMaine_Angus]

My daughters prospect steer has been having nothing but problems with its feet ever since we had his hooves trimmed back on the 30th of June.  I know white hooves are softer than black hooves but I have owned others and they never had this kind of trouble.  

I have soaked his foot numerous times with epson salt/water mixture and followed it with a anti-fungal spray.  Also go some stuff from the vet to help with inflammation.  He hurt it originally the same day he had his hooves trimmed.  When I walked him from the trailer into the pasture, he stood on a rock and immediately started limping.  It took two weeks for him to get over that (get around pretty normally).  I took him to the vet to get his scurs cut off on the 21st of July and the day afterwards he was limping again but not as bad as the first time he hurt his foot.  Yesterday, I noticed him lowering his head everytime he took a step with his back right foot and laying down a lot.  Not sure if I am not feeding him all the minerals he needs for his hooves or what.  

My vet is on vacation until this weekend.  I plan on taking him to the vet Saturday and put him on a trimming table so we can look at his feet better and see what seems to be the root cause for this problem.   If you have any advice I would appreciate it.  I am thinking about putting him in our walk in cooler so he doesn't walk much and can stand on a soft bedding after the vet treats him.

My steer did the exact same thing. I put Kopertox (copper sulfate) in between my steers 'toes' its green and it smells bad. I put it on a big thick peice of cotton and stuck it between his hooves and wrapped his hoof in vet wrap like a boot covering the entire hoof. I left it on for 3 days. he didnt limp when i took it out. We thought he had a hairy wart but he didnt it was about a week after his hoof trim. he started limping. SO my steer did the EXACT same thing as your daughters. try it. it works. good luck

 

[OH Breeder]

I haven't noticed a smell, but at this time, I won't rule anything out until a vet looks at him on a table.  Really need this calf to get to feeling better so he can start gaining weight again.  Sure need to be able to get him finished for OYE.  I weighed him the other day and he weighs about 100 pounds less than the other steer in the same pen.  He has had to deal with a lot more stress than that calf though (hurt his foot three times and had to be de-horned).   

DL suggested a hoof clamp/tester. My herd bull came up lame twice. First time we treated with antibiotics and they took xrays of his limps. Missed the small pocket on hoof. We put him on a table and put a hoof tester/clamp on him. Found a small pocket up in his hoof. Once we opened and drained it he didn't have another issue. We cleaned quiet a bit out and trimmed away lots around it but he immediately was up and moving around once we got rid of the pocket.

 

[Sambosu]

I had our animal chiropractor look over him last night for any structural issues and he didn't find anything wrong with his hips or back.  He feels confident something is going on with his feet.  I called around and found a vet I have never used before that has a table and can get the calf in today.  Hopefully this afternoon I will understand what the problem is and get the calf back on the road towards recovery.  I will let you all know what he says is causing the problem in case you ever have an issue like this.

LindseysMaine_Angus, I probably should have used kopertox when I treated his feet the last time he was limping but I bought a different brand because it was in a spray bottle and easy to apply.  I am going to recommend wrapping his feet  so I can keep them clean and medicated for a few days after he is treated by the vet.

 

[Sambosu]

Quick update.  The calf's rear hoofs both had a split on the inside rear portion of each hoof and a small case of foot rot.  After being treated with Kopertox and given a shot of Nuflor yesterday afternoon, he seems to be feeling better this morning. Sure am hoping this treatment will eliminate his pain.  I will be putting kopertox on his hoofs every night as well and thinking about putting a anti-fungal liniment on his hoofs in the morning to relieve some pain and improve blood circulation to help him heal. 

 

[showrookie]

Could be a hairy wort between the toes.  One of mine had one several years ago, hoof trimmer wrapped it with something and it took care of the problem in about a week..

 

[LindseysMaine_Angus]

Could be a hairy wort between the toes.  One of mine had one several years ago, hoof trimmer wrapped it with something and it took care of the problem in about a week..

it was most likely Kopertox or Acid.

 

[LindseysMaine_Angus]

Quick update.  The calf's rear hoofs both had a split on the inside rear portion of each hoof and a small case of foot rot.  After being treated with Kopertox and given a shot of Nuflor yesterday afternoon, he seems to be feeling better this morning. Sure am hoping this treatment will eliminate his pain.  I will be putting kopertox on his hoofs every night as well and thinking about putting a anti-fungal liniment on his hoofs in the morning to relieve some pain and improve blood circulation to help him heal. 

If you wrap it you can leave it on for up to 5 days. apply the kopertox put on a thick piece of cotton and wrap with vet wrap. then take it off after 3-5 days. (M.O) Its what we did with my steer. his hoof was the same way but he didnt get a shot.