Arthritis

[JamsHundred]

While talking Dexter with a long time US breeder today, ( both of us fond of small Dexters) the arthritis word came into the conversation.

It appears, in most photos I've seen, the English herd is still small in stature, some carriers I suppose, and in the case of the Woodmagic herd, none.

What is the "collective" experience in the English herd ( or other countries), as to the malady of arthritis? Is it common in your smaller animals, and what age to you notice symptoms? What, if any remedies do you use?

Mrs. Rutherford, if you wouldn't mind a direct question, are your small non-carriers affected by arthritis, or has the removal of the dwarf genetics also removed the tendency to be arthritic?

[Woodmagic]

There are still many breeders in this country who prefer to breed to the short leg, usually using a long leg bull on their short leg herd, and selling any resulting long leg heifers. In my own experience the short leg carrier stands a big risk of becoming arthritic between the ages of eight or nine, and most short leg herds will have one or two in this condition. It can occasionally develop much earlier, but it was definitely one of the reasons I decided I must try to produce a short leg animal without the achondrodysplasia. Since I have eliminated it, I can honestly say I have only seen arthritis develop at much greater age, I have had a cow of 21 who developed a limp in her last two years, and one of nineteen at the moment, but I think at that age it is a reasonable impairment. The achondrodsyplasia is a fault in the bone development, and it is not surprising that it can increase the onset of early arthritis. I see no sense in having to cull an animal half way through its life, as I used to do in my early days.

[Inger]

The only case of arthritus we have is an 8 year old carrier. She started showing foot problems about 2 years ago and it has progressed to the stage where we are going to have to cull her this year after she has weaned her calf, because her movement has greatly reduced and the amount of grazing she can undertake has been affected to the extent that she has trouble keeping weight on. Previously she was always one of the better conditioned cows in the herd, but since calving, her foot problem has accelerated.

I haven't seen arthritus in any of our non-carrier cows. One of which was 13 when we turned her into sausages and mince.