Table 1.
Lameness scoring scale1
| Description |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lameness score | While standing | While walking | Gait | |
| 1 | Nonlame | Level back posture | Level back posture | Normal |
| 2 | Mildly lame | Level back posture | Arched back | Normal to short striding |
| 3–5 | Moderately to severely lame |
Arched posture | Arched back | Takes one step at a time; reluctant to bear weight on one or more limbs/feet |
1
This scale has been modified from a previously described 5-point scale (Sprecher et al., 1997) in which the above scores of 1, 2, and 3 are comparable to the scores of 1, 2, and 3–5 on the Sprecher 5-point scale, respectively. In the present study, any cow with an average score ≥2 was considered to be lame, and animals were grouped as either nonlame (score of 1) or lame (score of 2–5).