health-hoof-index-14.html
VikingNews UK 02 2017
15 / 28
15 june 2017 | vikingnews prior to the introduction of the
hoof
health
index
, conformation of feet and legs was the indirect indicator for
hoof
health
, and there is a 24% correlation between these two traits. especially bone structure and hock quality say some- thing about
hoof
health
. however, it is quite clear that breeding for better feet and legs is not an effective tool to improve
hoof
health
, even though it is the only tool available in other places in the world. it is also important to note that there is no correlation between milk yield and
hoof
health
. that means that we can breed for better production and improved
hoof
health
at the same time. genetic progress data collection for the
hoof
health
index
started already back in 2003, but the quantum leap was achieved in 2011 with the beginning of electronic registrations. more than one million data records are collected on an annual basis. at the same time, the
index
was included in our nordic total merit
index
with the current weight of 8%. figure 1 shows the genetic progress for holstein that was achieved for the trait since 2000 and until today. females are being steadily improved with the in- creased pace in the period after 2011, when the
index
was included in the nordic total merit
index
. for the bulls, there is an even more clear and positive development. the progress has actually been about one unit per year during the last few years that looks very promising also for the females. as more generations get reliable registrations, it would be good to assign more weight for
hoof
health
in the ntm
index
, so we could achieve additional progress during the coming years. does it make a difference for your herd? having a positive genetic progress for
hoof
health
means a lot for your dairy business (together with the selection of the good bulls for this trait). the
hoof
health
index
combines seven sub-indices, where sole ulcer has high focus due to its big economic impact ? actually estimat- ed to be 1,310 euro for a severe case - for more details look at www.vikinggenetics.com/
hoof
health
. main conclusions ? with the
hoof
health
index
, you get a unique tool to im- prove
hoof
health
through breeding. ? there is a large variation be- tween the best and the lowest performing animals. ? you should use ntm to se- lect the bulls as the first step and then rely on the
hoof
health
index
if you wish to have more focus on this trait. ? there is a lot of money to save if you choose the best bulls for
hoof
health
. figure 1. average
index
for
hoof
health
by birth year and sex for holstein
hoof
health
index
104 106 108 110 102 100 98 96 94 92 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 bulls females birth year
hoof
trimmer working. vikinggenetics has more than 4 million electronic registrations regarding
hoof
health
.
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