ABSTRACT
Subjective observational methods such as locomotion score (LS) and body condition score (BSC) have been widely used for populations evaluation of different degrees of claudication and nutritional status in cattle. This study aimed to verify the longitudinal association between body condition score and locomotion score in Holstein cows submitted to a semi-extensive breeding regime. The experimental period comprised two years of observations at a property located in the South of Rio Grande do Sul. The experimental group consisted of 900 lactating cows, which were evaluated quarterly, being evaluated by orthopedic dynamics through LS and of the metabolic status through BCS. The collection of these data was performed by three trained veterinarians. To verify the correlation between variables, the SAS program was used using the Pearson Correlation method to determine the association between the variables evaluated (LS and BSC), at a significance level of 5%. The rest of the animals that showed some degree of locomotion difficulty, were distributed following intensity: 21.6% of LS2 animals, 15.5% of LS3 animals, 3.5% with LS4, and 2.2% with LS5, while 57,2% were without locomotion difficulty (LS1). Regarding the correlation result, a negative association (r= -0.57) was found between BSC and LS (P=0.03), with an overall of BSC of 2.97±0.33 and LS of 1, 35±0.24 during the experimental period. Therefore, there is a negative correlation between body condition score and locomotion score in Holstein cows submitted to the semi-extensive breeding regime.
Keywords:
hoof; metabolism; score