Rolling out the BCVA/CHCSB Lantra approved programme of foot trimming courses

Sarah Smith of The George Farm Vets tells us about getting involved in the new Lantra-approved programme, a collaboration between BCVA and Cattle Hoof Care Standards Board (CHCSB), that aims to unite farm vets and hoof trimmers in the challenge to improve mobility in the national herd.

Q: Tell us about your role in the practice and getting involved in the new Lantra programme.

A: I grew up on a dairy and sheep farm in North Yorkshire and after graduating in 2013 moved down to Wiltshire to work for The George Farm Vets 'for a year or two'. That was nine years ago! Since graduating I have had an interest in lameness, and in recent years I have taken on the technical training side of the practice, running regular AI and foot trimming courses for farmers so when I heard about the new course format I was keen to get involved.

I have run farmer foot trimming courses for several years but after attending the CHCSB CPD Day last September and hearing the plans for the course and the aim for it to become the industry norm, I felt that it would be poor form to continue encouraging clients to attend and pay for a course when the accredited course may well become the required standard in coming years.

Q: This new Lantra course is a collaboration and aims to bring trimmers and vets and farmers together to share experience and expertise – how important is that and what do you hope is the outcome of this shared experience and training opportunity?

A: I think it's really important, for years we have worked closely with semen companies and nutritionists but not so much with our foot trimmers. Working with trimmers to deliver the courses ensures farmers are receiving a combination of expertise; trimmers are providing a high level of knowledge and experience regarding the practical aspects, and this complements the vets' anatomical and pathological understanding.

The new courses have the added advantage of being Lantra approved and quality assured so we can be confident all farmers are receiving a consistent level of training and achieving a certified level of competency.

As well as the farmers receiving advantages from the collaborative training, my hope is that it will also strengthen the relationship between vets and trimmers, which will in turn help with lameness control on farm. Farmers often have a close relationship with their foot trimmer, we find that many of our clients are very particular about who they have to do their cows feet.

Hopefully if we can work together to encourage farmers to address issues leading to lameness on their farms, the backing of both vet and trimmer may lead to more action and compliance with advice given.

In terms of what I am getting out of being involved with the Lantra training, I find the teaching side of the job rewarding and it is good to know we are delivering a course at a certified standard. I also find I am learning a lot from the trimmer's expertise.

Q: What are the main/most common mobility challenges for farmers that you see regularly – that can be most easily overcome with the right training and approaches?

A: I think the most common issue we would see on farms struggling with lameness is a delay in treating those early lame cows. If a cow can be picked up, trimmed and given a block and anti-inflammatory early on in the course of disease, we all know that she is far more likely to go on and recover.

There has been plenty of work showing the importance of early detection and prompt effective treatment (EDPET) in improving mobility in our herds. If we can equip all farmers with the confidence that they can quickly pick up and provide appropriate first aid to a lame cow then hopefully this should improve the delivery of this early treatment.

Obviously, there are other hurdles such as lack of facilities, or the possibility of lame cows not even been spotted in the first place. I hope that by encouraging farmers to undertake this training we can also raise awareness of the other issues and help to over come them, for example by discussing the importance of regular mobility scoring. 

Q: What impact do you think those who undertake this training can have on the incidence of lameness in the UK herd? What is the big ambition for vets working on lameness – what can we hope for?

A: Lameness is such an emotive topic and one of the biggest welfare issues facing the industry today.

I think it would be unrealistic to say we hope for zero lame cows, but if we could make it the norm that those who do go lame are treated as more of an emergency, this would be brilliant and would overall lead to a huge reduction in the prevalence of lame cows in the UK. 

Q: Tell us a bit about what delegates can expect and what the day looks like on a First Aid for Feet course – who is it for and what will they take away?

A:  The First Aid for Feet course starts with a theory section, including an overview of the anatomy, lesion recognition, lameness detection and a little bit on health and safety. A slideshow and handouts are provided after you attend the BCVA Accredited Foot Health Trainer course which is nice as we all know how laborious it can be putting these things together. The handout has sections for the delegates to fill in themselves which we found really helped to keep people engaged.

We then move onto the practical sessions, starting with discussion of equipment used and a knife sharpening demo. This then moves onto a demonstration of trimming and applying a block, which is done on specimen feet from the abattoir. Once the delegates have seen the demo, it is their turn to have a crack at it. First Aid for Feet covers only a basic overview of the 5-Step method, with the main emphasis being measuring toe length, correct application of a block and trimming a lesion correctly, whereas the Intermediate Hoof Trimming course goes into more detail on the five steps.

We had people of various levels of experience on our first course, a couple of whom were really attending to keep their milk buyer happy, so started the day a little bit sceptical. By the end of the course, they all said they'd learnt something new. I think the material being based on the most up to date science means that even the most experienced farmer will take something away from the day.

Q: What would you say to anyone considering becoming an instructor, like yourself?

A: If anyone is considering becoming an instructor, I would recommend it. The courses won't get off the ground without us as vets being happy to run them and I think it will provide a massive welfare advantage if we can get to a stage of every farm having someone who has completed at least the basic course.

What I will say is, like anything done for the first time, there is a fair amount of logistics involved with setting up the course initially, such as getting all the equipment together, sourcing specimen feet and liaising with the trimmers, but this should get easier the more courses you run, and actually wasn't as daunting as I expected when I set out to organise the courses.

*Content courtesy of BCVA’s Cattle Quarterly.

Find out more about the BCVA/CHCSB Lantra Approved programme of courses on their website. The next instructor training day is 26 September 2023. To book your place contact office@cattlevet.co.uk