The vertebra are still prominent in a cow scoring midway between a 2 and 3. However, they cannot be seen as individual bones. Individual short ribs are easily counted and the ligaments holding the hooks and pins to the backbone are rigid and obvious. There is a bit more roundness to the hook bone than in the BCS 2 cow, but it is still sharp. Her thurl is very dished and the pin bone protrudes. The area on either side of the tail head is hollow, but not to the degree as the BCS 2 cow. This is the lowest condition score that should be seen in a well-managed dairy operation. Ideally, less than
10% of the herd should score 2.5.
