inyati13
Well-known member
I will try to cover all the issues that came up in the original thread and the related thread on turning over the squeeze chute. First, I will not address the psychoanalysis. :lol: I will begin with getting her into the squeeze chute. LRTX1 will focus on this as he stated he has the same chute I do. Sorry LRTX1 as Clint Eastwood said in Dirty Harry, in all the excitement "did I shoot 5 times or 6. Well to tell you the truth I lost count myself..." I did not take pictures of a cow that is big, tall and heavy in the Tartar Squeeze chute. But she walked down the alley, through the palpitation cage and into the squeeze chute w/o the slightest prodding. I put hay and some dry dirt down in the chute so she would get good footing. It was icy here this morning. The heavy ice and snow was just north of us. I will be dramatic about this, the squeeze was totally open when she walked in and she was squeezed in there so tight that the vet and I laughed. If she gains 5 more pounds she will never fit again. We could not put even one notch of squeeze on her.
Now about techniques, as Bez and others described, the vet placed a rope around her foot just above the hoof line and below the dew claws. He ran the rope over the overhead bar and as he lifted I pulled the rope up and when he was happy, I tied it off. She was calm and standing quietly as he got out his hoof knife and started cleaning. He opened her toes and checked them in several motions. He scraped the bottom and sides of her hoof. He took a tool that reminded me of a pair of welders pliers and pinched her toes in every location possible. She did not react. He said her tissue was nice and spongy as it should be. No abscess, cracks, or swelling. The tissue up between her toes was healthy; absolutely no sign of present or past infection or foot rot. He did a thorough search but found nothing but a healthy foot. He checked her mouth and said she is about 7 to 8 years old. He examined her leg in the area of the canon bone and said he could not feel any swelling. She was not sensitive to any probing.
We let her out. She definitely has a slight limp but he said she is putting most of her weight on it. He said there is nothing that requires action. He said you could x-ray it or do an ultrasound but all you would do is say there is the inflammation. The possibilities are arthritis somewhere above her foot or a tissue injury. Watching her walk, he thinks it is minor and there is small risk that the outcome will result in culling. SHE WAS WALKING BETTER TODAY THAT SHE WAS. I HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING dun's SUGGESTION OF 10 ASPRINS TWICE A DAY. I REALLY THINK THAT WAS WHY SHE WALKED SO MUCH BETTER TODAY.
He said one of his own cows was just like this. He put her in the chute three times and could never find anything. He said it took about 4 months but she finally started walking w/o a limp. He said there just seems to be tissue injuries that take time to heal that never cause any health problems. He said that does not mean you should assume all limps are not a problem. He said he examined a cow yesterday that had been limping for three weeks and the foot was badly swollen and abscessed. He said she would probably have to be culled.
Well there you have it. She did fit in the chute. She was easy to handle. Her foot is fine. She still has a minor limp. I guess Bez is partly right. I do look for something to worry about. :frowns:
Now about techniques, as Bez and others described, the vet placed a rope around her foot just above the hoof line and below the dew claws. He ran the rope over the overhead bar and as he lifted I pulled the rope up and when he was happy, I tied it off. She was calm and standing quietly as he got out his hoof knife and started cleaning. He opened her toes and checked them in several motions. He scraped the bottom and sides of her hoof. He took a tool that reminded me of a pair of welders pliers and pinched her toes in every location possible. She did not react. He said her tissue was nice and spongy as it should be. No abscess, cracks, or swelling. The tissue up between her toes was healthy; absolutely no sign of present or past infection or foot rot. He did a thorough search but found nothing but a healthy foot. He checked her mouth and said she is about 7 to 8 years old. He examined her leg in the area of the canon bone and said he could not feel any swelling. She was not sensitive to any probing.
We let her out. She definitely has a slight limp but he said she is putting most of her weight on it. He said there is nothing that requires action. He said you could x-ray it or do an ultrasound but all you would do is say there is the inflammation. The possibilities are arthritis somewhere above her foot or a tissue injury. Watching her walk, he thinks it is minor and there is small risk that the outcome will result in culling. SHE WAS WALKING BETTER TODAY THAT SHE WAS. I HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING dun's SUGGESTION OF 10 ASPRINS TWICE A DAY. I REALLY THINK THAT WAS WHY SHE WALKED SO MUCH BETTER TODAY.
He said one of his own cows was just like this. He put her in the chute three times and could never find anything. He said it took about 4 months but she finally started walking w/o a limp. He said there just seems to be tissue injuries that take time to heal that never cause any health problems. He said that does not mean you should assume all limps are not a problem. He said he examined a cow yesterday that had been limping for three weeks and the foot was badly swollen and abscessed. He said she would probably have to be culled.
Well there you have it. She did fit in the chute. She was easy to handle. Her foot is fine. She still has a minor limp. I guess Bez is partly right. I do look for something to worry about. :frowns:
