I wasn't aware cattle foundered. I assume that is from grain? I've never seen any reason to grain commercial beef cattle unless they are being prepared for slaughter. Being strictly a cow/calf producer, I suppose that is why I've never seen a cow founder. To me the greatest value of cattle is their ability to harvest grass from landscapes that are otherwise of little value, and turn that grass into meat. I often find it surprising when someone on this forum shows a photo of their cattle on grass that my cattle would think was heaven, and then go on to mention giving their cattle grain. In this part of the country grain is relatively expensive while the grass that grows up in the hills is readily available and a cheap source of gain. The cattle have the added value in this area of reducing the chances of devastating wildfires. The Midwest is a very different environment with less available grazing and cheaper grain.
I appreciate the new foot scores and look forward to increasing accuracy that more reporting should assist. Scoring feet is subjective and time consuming so I doubt these scores will ever be as accurate as weights and height but these scores may help me avoid bulls that could cause foot problems in the future.
Foot problems are probably more prevalent in some environments then in others. I've seen few foot problems in my own herd. Most of the cattle around here walk a fair distance while grazing over ground that wears their feet. I think that is good for the feet and prevents them from getting long toes. I would guess cattle raised on rocky ground might actually see less problems than ones raised on soft footing. The few foot problems we have encountered over the years were mostly in non Angus cattle. My cattle are all Angus now, but in the past my herd was pretty diverse. The one cow I remember as having the worse feet ever, was a Hereford / Murrey Grey cross. She was the result of a neighbors MG bull getting in with the cows back about 20+ years ago. She had screw claw and we trimmed her toes when she was only two, and nursing her first calf. The first and last time I've ever trimmed a cows feet. I knew she should be culled, but she was pregnant and we ended up leaving her in the herd only to have her prolapse. Our first and only prolapse in this herd. It was natures way of saying we should have culled her when we weaned her calf. I have no idea why she prolapsed then, since she was still months away from calving.