Evaluation of the position of the Lidia Bull limbs. Technical note.

Abstract

In lidia cattle (Bos taurus) it is necessary to pay attention to the conformation of the limbs, especially in the case of males that are fought in the celebrations, since poor posture can affect their locomotion. There is work on the morphology of the breed, but no biomechanical approach to its limbs has been carried out. In the present work, the posture of 184 lidia bulls, belonging to 16 “encastes”, is evaluated, analyzing the direction followed by their limbs and the angulation of the different joints using photogrammetry. Incorrect conformations were detected, the vast majority of which are mild: 52.72 tucked in the hands, 69.57 closed in the knees, 44 long front pasterns (22.83 rear), 20.11 tucked in the back, 25.54 with a straight hock and 49.5% open at the back, respectively. All without differences between “encastes”. Regarding the angles of the joints, most of the animals have a lower angulation than that registered for the bovine standard for the Holstein breed, highlighting the Miura joint with greater angles than the rest of “encastes”, given that these are animals with high height at withers. In the lidia breed, the forelimb predominates, which directs the attack and requires greater flexion of the joints (less angulation) for greater power of movement. In the hind limb, individuals are described as “tucked in from behind”, perhaps due to the smaller femuro-tibial (stifle) and tibio-tarsal (hock) angles, describing a more oblique rump than the rest of the bovine. The reduction of the joint angles could expose the hock and hoof to injuries due to excessive pressure, which added to the slight defect in 49.5% of “open back” bulls, means that static balance may be affected, which could generate or predispose the “falling syndrome”.