Lecture notes available
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One of the 3-D animations.
THE 21st RCVS Share Jones Lecture, by Christoph Mülling, is now available to view online.
A professor of veterinary anatomy at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Leipzig, Prof Dr Mülling gave the lecture entitled “These digits are made for walking: comparing and contrasting the structure, function and challenges of the bovine claw and equine hoof”at the BCVA Congress in October.
His emphasis was on the consequences on the feet of the environmental stresses cattle and horses are put under. In modern husbandry systems, for example, dairy cattle have to stand for long periods on hard ground, when they are anatomically more suited to moving about on soft, variable terrain. This causes sustained pressure, which weakens the claw structure and can leave it prone to the development of claw lesions and subsequent lameness.
Horses involved in racing and other sports face vertical deceleration of up to minus 500G, and high frequency vibrations, with major implications both for hooves and legs.
Prof Mülling illustrated his talk with virtual 3-D anatomical models of cattle and horse feet, which he described as “digits meeting digital”. He explained how techniques such as high-speed videographic and fluoroscopic motion analysis could help the veterinary profession better understand what is happening within the feet of cattle and horses, and how prevention and treatment of ailments could be improved.
Globally, there are 12 billion dairy cattle digits, of which approximately 20 per cent suffer problems at any one time, and a further 220 million horse hooves.
“Clearly, the welfare and economic benefits of study in this area to the animals, veterinary surgeons and society at large, are highly relevant,” concluded Prof Mülling.
This was the first time that a Share Jones lecture had been held during a congress and the talk was attended by many experts in the field.
Prof Mülling’s presentation can be viewed online at http://bit.ly/195rlC0 and the three-dimensional animations can be found at www.hoofexplorer.com
Veterinary practices are being urged to help owners safely dispose of any unused and expired pet medicines - not just antibiotics - during November's Animal Medicines Amnesty. 
