If a horse has a longer pastern does that mean their strides will be flatter(such as tht of a hunter horse)?

ALSO if this is true then WHY

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thx

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Answer:
If by longer you mean more sloping, then yes it does. The concussion is absorbed better by a sloping pastern with some length. Also, a long sloping shoulder is commonly associated with this conformation. A short pastern doesn't act like a spring the way a longer sloping pastern does.

ADD….The pastern isn't considered to be too long unless it is more than 3/4 of the length of the cannon. In that case, strain on tendons and ligaments might occur, with dropped fetlocks, and tendency to ringbone and tendon bows. Longer pasterns that fit within normal range are not associated with these problems.

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Answer:
I’ve never seen a case where a longer pastern has actually improved movement. BUT sometimes a longer pastern can give the horse an effect of having a more daisy-cutter trot…but I do know that, in some cases, it can improve jumping ability if it has more of a slope because it can handle the impact better….but the pastern not having enough slope can be a very very bad sign…..it puts too much stress on the lower leg and can cause straining…ok, well I hope this helps!!

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Answer:
Pastern joints despite their name do not actually move in the same way an ordinary joint would, there’s very tiny movement at all. They’ll absorb concussion but great amounts of concussion can make a horse likely to ringbone, especially high ringbone. I do not like horses with long pasterns as they seem more likely to dropping of the pasterns espcially behind and I think the angle of the pastern to begin with plays a part to some degree in the development of DSLD.

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