Claw position & abrasion

Why is the correct claw position so important?

In natural environments, cattle prefer soft ground. Claw abrasion still happens: sandy constituents in the elastic soil ensure a balance between horn formation and abrasion. Hard floors also cause abrasion, but especially on the heel, because the cow steps onto the bulb first. Therefore, the claw angle becomes flatter and the heel lower. This misalignment must be corrected in the course of functional claw trimming.

Causes of claw misalignment

High-performance, intensively fed dairy cows have stronger horn growth. Too much abrasion on the heel will allow the claw to "tip backwards" and the claw angle will be flatter. Abrasive hard floors also grind the claw flat, resulting in the loss of the wall edge and thus the natural slope of the sole.

Source: Kümper, 2003

High heel and

claw angle 45 - 50°

Uniform load conditions of the horny shoe prevent
punctual bruising of the sole's corium. A high heel
lifts the bulb area away from the dirty surface and
lessens the risk of infection.

Low heel and

claw angle < 40°

This leads to overloading and punctual bruising of
the corium (often resulting in Rusterholz sole ulcer).
A low heel increases the risk of infectious claw diseases such as heel horn erosion and digital dermatitis. Regular corrective claw trimming is
therefore necessary.

Rubber can also provide abrasion

Rubber flooring is often not laid throughout the walking areas in the cattle house in order to provide hard surfaces for claw abrasion. This kind of partial surface covering can trigger social stress because the animals prefer to stand on the soft ground, and lower-ranking cows get pushed off. There are abrasive soft types of rubber flooring which combine claw abrasion and natural softness.

KRAIBURG profiKURA / pediKURA preserve the claw form

Soft flooring with the abrasive corundum incorporated in the surface supports physiological claw abrasion 365 days a year. Studies indicate that the corundum mats preserve the claw angle as well as the wall edge. The soft floor keeps the outer claw from being overloaded and reduces pressure ulcers. Maintenance of the claw angle with a high heel keeps the bulb off dirty surfaces. This helps to prevent infectious claw diseases!

Benz, 2009; Telezhenko and Bergsten, 2011; Günther, 2015

Daily positional corrections

The study shows that pediKURA helps to maintain
correct claw position even between claw trimming
sessions, allowing routine claw trimming to be
genuinely about care. These will take less time and
involve fewer treatments of misalignments and
diseases caused by incorrect load.

As in nature

profiKURA and pediKURA with corundum in the surface provide a unique combination of comfortable
softness and claw abrasion whilst preventing the
loss of the wall edges of the claws.

For easy measuring:

the pediKURA tester from KRAIBURG

Download KRAIBURG focus as PDF file:

Why is the correct claw position so important?

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