The aim of this study was to assess whether locomotion parameters obtained by measurements of cow trackways are reliable and sufficiently sensitive to describe locomotion in non-lame and lame dairy cows on different floors. Thirty-two non-lame cows were used to study the reliability of the trackway measurements. The cows were tested twice over three weeks and measurements from four consecutive strides were used during each test session. To study the effect of different floors on locomotion, 25 non-lame cows and eleven cows with different lameness degrees were tested on five different surfaces: solid and slatted concrete, both with and without 20 mm thick elastic rubber mats, and wet, compacted sand. The reliability of the measurements varied from moderate to low, with measurements relating to inter-limb coordination being most inconsistent. The slippery slatted concrete floor caused restricted locomotion in so far as the strides were significantly shorter here than on all the other floors. Use of yielding rubber mats resulted in a locomotion more similar to that on the sand path. Lameness had an effect on shortening strides and steps, but in most cases the animals’ reaction to different floorings was similar in lame and healthy cows. Step asymmetry due to lameness was decreased when cows walked on the soft surfaces. It was concluded that a trackway measurement system is a suitable method to use in field locomotion studies and that the system is useful in identifying differences in kinematics on different floor types. Since there is a relatively high inconsistency in cow walking it is beneficial to use measurements of several strides to obtain a representative gait pattern
