A visit to the tilt table

genebo · #1 04/10/14, 04:02 PM

Today I took my bull Brenn of Paradise to the Southside Large Animal Clinic to have hi foot examined. Dr. Fulper is one of the really great cattle vets around and I wanted him to look at an injury to one of Brenn's hooves.

Brenn was led to the tilt table, where he would be secured tightly to the table as it laid over and exposed his feet for examination.

Brenn's horns wouldn't fit through the normal head restraint, so his head was lashed down. He submitted gracefully to an awkward act.

In a matter of minutes, the floor was littered with slivers of hoof. Dr. Fulper was quick.

When he finished with the power rasp, he was ready for the fine grinder.

He found that Brenn had a puncture from above in his left fron hoof. I guess that a board came off of the goat house and he kicked it. A nail sticking out must have punctured his foot and torn as it ripped out. Dr. Fulper had to grind deep to get all the damaged hoof out, then use a knife to cut out infected tissue.

The final result looks pretty good. You can still see where the puncture was.

Once I got him home, he was back to normal. All is forgiven.

Genebo
Paradise Farm
http://paradisedexters.com

**gone-a-milkin** · #2 04/10/14, 04:29 PM

That tilt table sure is a handy invention, isn't it?
A puncture from above? Weird.

Glad to see you got the old boy all fixed up.
Hopefully he wont be too sore on it now.

Thanks for sharing your pix with us.

G. Seddon · #3 04/10/14, 08:03 PM

Wow, Gene, fascinating! Great photos. So glad he'll recover.

Interestingly enough, we just came back from the cattle assoc. meeting where one of the area vets gave a great presentation on lameness in cattle, including punctures! He should be good as new once he's healed, right? Especially love the last photo with "all is forgiven." LOL!

genebo · #4 04/10/14, 08:52 PM

Hopefully, the wound will heal well and he'll be as good as new. The Dr. said it may take a while, for the hoof grows out from the base.

G. Seddon, where did you go to hear the vet's presentation? I'd like to do that.

G. Seddon · #5 04/11/14, 07:57 AM

genebo, this was part of the CVCA's program for members (including dinner!). It was held at the Northern Piedmont Research Station in Orange, VA, where they do a lot of crop testing and stuff like that and the pro's talk about different forage varieties and cover crops, etc. They serve a great steak dinner too.

Although most members of the CVCA (www.cvcacattle.com) are commercial cattle people, we like the educational programs they put on...vet presentations of interest to anyone who has cattle, etc. Their cattle sales have grown tremendously over the past few years. The Orange extension agent is VERY active and VERY knowledgeable.

I know you have a grazing group nearby that offers good programs. If you have a regional cattle assoc. in your area, I encourage you to join it! If you want to attend a future meeting of the CVCA, let me know and we can make that happen.

Bret · #6 04/11/14, 08:18 AM

Nice pictures and report. Oh to have the right equipment and know how to use it. Good repair and nice looking bull.

MO_cows · #7 04/11/14, 11:36 AM

That was interesting, thanks for sharing! I don't think any vets in our area have a tilt table. I guess if something like that came up we would have to sedate the animal to get them down. It's a testament to your bull's disposition that he didn't come out of the restraint "on the fight". I think a lot of bulls that are typically gentle in their day to day lives would still get riled up by having something like that done to them.

BlackWillowFarm · #8 04/11/14, 04:29 PM

Interesting to see your story in pictures. Thanks for sharing. Nice bull too.

genebo · #9 04/11/14, 05:05 PM

The vet expected Brenn to be upset when he was released, too.

He told me, "Get over here, so I can release him!"

I assured him that Brenn was calm, but he insisted. That's why I didn't get a picture of him being released.

It was kind of interesting. As the table was nearly back upright, Brenn's feet started doing the dog paddle. He was trying to touch ground.

Once his feet hit the ground, he was good. The line around his neck was released, then the two wide straps. He shook like a wet dog, then waited for me to lead him back to the trailer.

It was dark in the barn and his feet probably felt strange after being trimmed, so he walked slowly. The vet, wanting to hurry things up, "tailed" him. That's the first time that had ever been done to him. He picked up the pace. Wouldn't you?

I was leading him with a bucket of sweet feed, shaking it. I took it into the trailer and set it down. Brenn came in and stuck his head in the bucket, just like in the picture I took when he got back home.

I came out of the trailer, we shut the doors, and I went in to pay.

The charge was for an office visit and a first time hoof trimming. Total cost: $85.00.

Heck, the education I got was worth that!

Genebo
Paradise Farm
http://paradisedexters.com

genebo · #10 08/01/14, 05:02 PM

I was told that the wound would take a year and a half to heal. I didn't know it would get worse before it got better.

The hoof has worn down so that now the hole is a slot, open at the bottom of the foot. Every time he puts his foot down, the hoof spreads. From his reaction, I think it hurts. He seems reluctant to move around a lot. He prefers to stand in one spot and graze it down to nothing before moving.

That is the importance of having good feet on your cattle. Brenn's were nearly perfect before the injury and he wandered freely about the pastures. Now his mobility is restricted.

I'm putting triple antibiotic with pain killer on his hoof every morning. It has softened the hoof a little and I think the pain killer is appreciated. I've noticed that he's moving more since I started this.

Here's what it looks like now. Compare this picture with the one taken the day of the trimming:

Dr. Fulper and Dr. Cole both told me that an injury like that would send other bulls to the freezer. It's only because I value him so highly and am willing to treat him, that he's still walking around and doing his job.

Oh, yeah, he still breeds his ladies. Watching him move around the first couple of days after breeding is pitiful. But during the breeding time, you'd think there was nothing wrong with him at all!

sv.maple · #11 08/01/14, 06:19 PM

Could you have his foot blocked so when stands he dont put any pressure on the sore side. Works really good for problems like these

genebo · #12 08/02/14, 09:01 AM

I don't know what that means, to have his foot blocked. Could you tell me about it? I'm willing to do anything that will make it easier for him while it heals.

**gone-a-milkin** · #13 08/02/14, 09:09 AM

Poor old boy. I know how a hurt foot can really bring an animal down.

Hoof blocking is where they build up the good side of the hoof with a block of wood, or sometimes a shoe.
That way when the animal steps down, the weight isn't on the ouchie part of the foot.

Here is a pic.
images.jpg

sv.maple · #14 08/02/14, 09:57 AM

Thats a good picture way better than i coulda explained thank you