Management
they’re missing their track, there’s probably a structural
problem in the hock, the hind leg or the front end.” down, the outside toe is going to get small, the inside toes
are going to grow and we’ve got some serious issues.”
Bedwell posed this question to the audience: “If you had
to pick two heifers in the pen, one was post-legged, and
one was sickle-hocked, which one would you pick?” When selecting young bulls, he suggests to look at heel
depth. There’s a problem if the heel line is on the ground.
“There’s not enough depth of heel. Sometimes we can get
these animals too weak in their pastern. We would prefer
some flex in that pastern versus something that’s too tight and
restricted. But if there’s not enough depth of heel and strength
in the pastern, what happens to this foot? It starts to grow
out and then we have some long-term problems,” he says.
The correct answer is sickle-hocked. “We’d definitely
prefer that extra leg set, that extra reach to the hind
leg. Aesthetically, maybe not as correct or what is ideal,
but functionally, long-term speaking, you’re going
to get a lot more good out of those females.”
If you’re still not sure, look at the dew claws. “If the dew
claws are pointing back at you, you’re ok. If the dew
claws are pointing out, you’ve probably got a hock
problem of being too bow-legged. If the dew claws are
pointing in, you’re probably a little cow-hocked.”
So, which one of those structural imperfections would
you rather have, bow-legged or hocking in? “Hocking in,
definitely. Being a little cow-hocked, functionally long term,
longevity, there are a lot of cows out their like that. Maybe
not ideal, but a lot better than the bow-legged animal
because they’re going to put too much pressure on the
outside of their hoof wall. That hoof wall is going to grind
What you want to stay away from is an animal that’s too straight
up and