Sole ulcers are one of the leading non-infectious causes of lameness in cattle. There has been many thoughts on how to minimize the risk of sole ulceration but only a few reliable investigations have been done to this day. The direct cause for sole ulcer is pressure to the hoof. However, many other things play a part indirectly; body condition score, metabolic problems and hormones have a strong impact on formation of sole ulcers. It is clear, that the best plan is to prevent sole ulcers by regular hoof trimming. Treating lame cows immediately can help detecting and treating the sole ulcers in the acute phase more effectively. Also relieving the pressure from ulcerated hoof is a very important step in getting the hoof problem treated, and taking care of the pain management. This study was conducted to prove effect of more frequent trimming against sole ulcers. The hooves of cows in one Estonian commercial farm were trimmed regularly with at first 6 and later 4 months between each trimming. Every hoof of every treated cow was evaluated each time. The study found out that hoof trimming done more frequently (3 times a year) has protective effect against the occurrence of sole ulcers when compared to less frequent trimming (less than 2 times per year). The study also showed that the older the cow is, the bigger the risk of having sole ulcers is.

Tallahaavand on üks sagedaseim mitteinfektsioosne lonkamise põhjus veistel. Tallahaavandite esinemise vähendamisest räägitakse palju, aga uuringuid on teema kohta vähe. Suurenenud surve talla all on otseseks tallahaavandite tekkepõhjuseks. Kaudselt aga mõjutavad tallahaavandite teket mitmed tegurid: kehakonditsiooni indeks, metaboolsed probleemid ja hormoonid. Kõige lihtsam on ennetada tallahaavandite teket regulaarse sõravärkimisega. Lonkavate lehmade kiire avastamine aitab leida ja ravida tallahaavandeid efektiivselt juba algstaadiumis. Tallahaavandi korral on adekvaatseks raviks piirkonna vabastamine rõhust ja valu vaigistamine. Käesolev uuring on teostatud tõestamaks sagedasema sõravärkimise mõju tallahaavandite ennetamises. Ühe Eesti piimaveisefarmi lehmade sõravärkimist jälgiti 2 aasta jooksul. Alguses oli värkimisvahe kuus kuud, hiljem neli kuud. Kogu lauda lehmade kõik jalad värgiti ja hinnati. Uuringu tulemusena leiti, et sagedasema sõravärkimise (kolm korda aastas) puhul oli taallahaavandite esinemine väiksem võrreldes pikema värkimisvahega (kaks korda aastas). Lisaks selgus, et vanematel lehmadel on suurem tõenäosus tallahaavandite tekkeks.