Multivariate analysis applied on the morphometry of Nellore cattle hooves raised in feedlot and pasture

Locomotion is an essential factor for the cattle health. In this sense, the objective of this study was to assess the possible impact of two types of management (Nellore raised confined and in the pasture) on the morphology of the hooves, and to evaluate differences among the hooves of thoracic and pelvic limbs and lateral and medial digits. Efficiency to use the multiple correspondence analysis, the chosen multivariate statistical technique, to compare this set of data was also evaluated. Twenty-four members of cattle (12 kept in confinement and 12 kept in the pasture) were sampled after they were slaughtered at 20 months of age. The limbs were sectioned in carpometacarpal and tarsometatarsal joint. Eight macroscopic measurements of the nail apparatus were carried out, involving the environment where each animal has been allocated and the production system. Samples were measured with a common millimeter tape in the lateral and medial digit of the fore and hind limbs to obtain the following data - abaxial wall height, axial wall height, sole length, sole width, bulb length, bulb width, bulb height and lateral wall length. The mean of each category was used as separator to values considerate high (when bigger than the mean) and low (when smaller than the mean). When applying the correspondence analysis, it was identified two relevant correspondences: the first involving the categories high bulb height (p<=0,05), low sole length (p<=0,05), high axial wall height (p<=0,05), high abaxial wall height (p<=0,10) with confined animals and the latter correspondence involving low bulb height (p<=0,10) and high sole length (p<=0,05) with pasture animals. Confined animals had higher hooves in the axial and abaxial walls, the highest and lowest sole bulb height. Hooves of animals kept in the pasture soil had low bulb and greater length of the sole. The multiple correspondence analysis, as the multivariate exploratory analysis chosen, was efficient to show an association between macroscopic measurements in the hooves of the animals from feedlot and pasture. When analyzing the alterations in the cattle hooves, the changes in the anatomy of the hull resulting from the impact of different types of flooring should be considered, along with the other factors that may cause alterations in beef cattle hooves morphometry.