AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Gerard Cramer, Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota and current chair of the AABP Lameness Committee. This podcast is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim and their 360 mastitis portfolio. What’s in your cattle tool care kit? Experience the power of complete mastitis care at choose360coverage.com.  

The topic of the discussion is to walk through a research project that was funded by the AABP Foundation to investigate a model for inducing sole ulcers in dairy cattle. Sole ulcers are one of the major causes of lameness in dairy cattle and yet we still have much to learn about the pathogenesis of this disease to improve prevention and treatment strategies. Cramer discusses the importance of proof-of-concept studies to benefit future research and how they approached the welfare implications of this study. Three induction model challenges were implemented in this study included lying time restriction, dry matter intake restriction and a lipopolysaccharide challenge. Cramer reviews the results of the study and the difficulties in successfully inducing sole ulcers in this group of cows.  

We also discuss some of the limitations of this study and future research opportunities to improve our ability to prevent and treat sole ulcers in dairy cows which can improve the welfare of cows. The AABP Foundation supports advancements in the health, well-being and productivity of cattle through scholarship programs, educational opportunities, and applied clinical research that benefits present and future cattle veterinarians. Research projects that are funded by the AABP Foundation must be applicable to practicing cattle veterinarians, have limited opportunity for funding elsewhere, and can serve as seed money for future larger-scale projects. The AABP Foundation research projects are supported entirely by member donations. Please support this type of research by donating today at this link.  

Publication: 

G. Cramer, E. Shepley, W. Knauer, B.A. Crooker, S. Wagner, L.S. Caixeta, An iterative approach to the development of a sole ulcer induction model in Holstein cows, Journal of Dairy Science, Volume 106, Issue 7,2023, https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2022-22726.