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Location: Cocoa, Florida | Anyone have any great short strided horses? I've always been told to buy the longer strided horses as they will make up more ground in between but I have one right now and the one of the shortest strides I've ever ridden and it seems like she's gonna be able to keep up with the big dogs!! I think she will be able to make up her time in her turns too. I haven't breezed her yet but I feel like that will help as well. She carries her front legs high when she runs, just how she moves, but she's probably one of the most fun horses I've had had to season for someone!
Here's a couple videos from this weekend
https://youtu.be/oGhcKgdWUYU
https://youtu.be/mAycrIKC0ng
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 Saint Stacey
 
| We had a paint that was short strided and looked wicked fast when he ran. He was quick in his turns. He'd do ok on small patterns. Big ones he'd get outrun. He never could come close to clocking like Sidekick did. Sidekick was long strided with no wasted motion. The paint always felt like he was going really fast. Sidekick always felt like he was just out of a Sunday stroll. The paint was usually about a second off of Sidekick. When it comes to most short strided horses, looks and feel can be deceiving. But they are a lot of fun to run. |
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Mrs. Txdad
Posts: 14084
Location: the fantasy txdad married | My little black mare is short strided. She can scream and win in a small pen but, on a full set, she just could never compete with the big dogs. She is a broodie now and I am selectively breeding her to stallions that will hopefully get babies with more reach. That being said, she was also a rope horse that could not be outrun. She (use to) ropes both ends, breakaway and calf rope. So, even if she produces babies just like her, I have ropers lined up to buy her babies.
She was also a sweet little pole horse.
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12841
| The first thing that I am going to say is that this horse is big and does not have a short stride. He had EPM so bad that he was terribly body sore and could not extend. I am trying to make a point. If a horse is not extending you need to look for the cause. The horse you are riding is NOT extending.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYhRCoi0U-A
Edited by streakysox 2017-04-26 10:46 AM
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 Elite Veteran
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Location: "...way down south in the Everglades..." | streakysox - 2017-04-26 9:20 AM The first thing that I am going to say is that this horse is big and does not have a short stride. He had EPM so bad that he was terribly body sore and could not extend. I seam trying to make a point. If a horse is not extending you need to look for the cause. The horse you are riding is NOT extending. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYhRCoi0U-A
I watched the videos and I agree...looks like something is just not right. Definitely not trying to be negative but I would consider looking into potential issues as yours is not moving out as much as she could IMO. My one is short & short strided and we are constantly battling stifle issues. Now, with that said, (when she's sound) we can smoke little patterns, but I still haven't seen her really do well in a standard pattern and I don't think she ever will excel in the bigger pens. But in the small ones, she is awesome despite her little stride, but she's also super quick in and out of her turns which helps. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 889
Location: on the fine line between insanity and geniusness | I would check front feet and stifles before I breezed him/her. I have a smallish roan horse that is 100% old school cowbred that had a stride like a TB. When he starts feeling shorter I know it's time to inject. Your horse doesn't look short strided to me as much as just not reaching out, as others have said. Breezing does help, especially if this horse has always been ridden in a round pen or arena. You wouldn't want to stretch out and really run if all you saw were fences either!! Open spaces can do great things for teaching one to stretch out and travel.
Edited by Ashley Lynn 2017-04-26 8:50 AM
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Expert
Posts: 1612
Location: Cocoa, Florida | She isn't mine but I did tell the owners to put some shoes on her, her feet were cracking bad and she didn't like the hard ground (that arena I was practicing in is super hard) and we've had NO rain for months. So I feel the shoes have helped.
I'm not ruling out EPM but I have never asked this mare to run, so once I start breezing her we will see if that makes a difference. Her owners are very adamant about keeping her feeling good, chiropractor once a month, vet checks etc.
I believe it's the way she carries herself, she carries her knees high when she runs, and she's got a short underline and sort of long back. She's about 14.2-14.3 but very wide, wide chest as well.
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Expert
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Location: Cocoa, Florida | Ashley Lynn - 2017-04-26 8:48 AM
I would check front feet and stifles before I breezed him/her. I have a smallish roan horse that is 100% old school cowbred that had a stride like a TB. When he starts feeling shorter I know it's time to inject. Your horse doesn't look short strided to me as much as just not reaching out, as others have said. Breezing does help, especially if this horse has always been ridden in a round pen or arena. You wouldn't want to stretch out and really run if all you saw were fences either!! Open spaces can do great things for teaching one to stretch out and travel.
She's a young horse, never been asked to work this hard. I can look into checking stifles and hocks, maybe flex tests palpating? Wouldn't think she would have any issues yet though |
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  Ms. Marine
Posts: 4641
Location: Texas | She may be naturally short strided but she isn't moving naturally at all. Looks like she's hurting. |
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 Expert
Posts: 5293
| Stingray sure doesn't have a big stride and sure can hang with the big dogs.... so anything is possible. |
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Expert
Posts: 1612
Location: Cocoa, Florida | BarrelRacing4Christ - 2017-04-26 10:02 AM
She may be naturally short strided but she isn't moving naturally at all. Looks like she's hurting.
Please elaborate on where you see her not moving right? |
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Take a Picture
Posts: 12841
| RnRJack - 2017-04-26 10:35 AM
BarrelRacing4Christ - 2017-04-26 10:02 AM
She may be naturally short strided but she isn't moving naturally at all. Looks like she's hurting.
Please elaborate on where you see her not moving right?
From my point of view, she is not reaching out with her front legs. Like I said, not extending. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 380
| She doesn't have full range of motion.
A short strided horse is one thing, but being short strided doesn't mean the horse doesn't have full range of motion. It looks like she is stepping short on both fronts but I am not vet or farrier. This could be anything from hoof to shoulder and ever possibly a sore back.
Edited by SloRide 2017-04-26 10:43 AM
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 595
Location: North Dakota | In the first video the horse looks like it hurts. Quick snappy steps is what makes me think this. Could be the ground like you said but she looks a bit better in the second video but still not right. I would be getting a lameness exam, chiro work done, saddle checked for fit and make sure her feet are good and healthy.
ETA: the run home on the second video gives it away completely. Something is up. When the horse is asked for more she locks up and almost gives less. Something hurts or possibly she is lacking something nutritionally so she just doesn't have the fire to get out and move?
Edited by MidWest1452 2017-04-26 10:53 AM
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Ms. Marine
Posts: 4641
Location: Texas | streakysox - 2017-04-26 8:40 AM
RnRJack - 2017-04-26 10:35 AM
BarrelRacing4Christ - 2017-04-26 10:02 AM
She may be naturally short strided but she isn't moving naturally at all. Looks like she's hurting.
Please elaborate on where you see her not moving right?
From my point of view, she is not reaching out with her front legs. Like I said, not extending.
My thoughts exactly. |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| I agree she doesn't look totally comfortable and fluid..maybe she doesn't know how to be, or maybe something is sore.
When we had shoes on my little horse he had more vertical action, and aside from ripping them off all. The. Time. Wasn't moving out as well as he could. I also had to fight tooth and nail to get any farrier to drop his heels down "he's just upright" they'd say "it'll cripple him". We're barefoot now, his heels aren't terribly contracted anymore though they still have a ways to go, he is also striding out MUCH better, and has yet to over reach.
I vote starting with a good performance vet to make sure everything looks good, including feet. |
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 Elite Veteran
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Location: Idaho | RnRJack - 2017-04-27 4:01 AM
Anyone have any great short strided horses? I've always been told to buy the longer strided horses as they will make up more ground in between but I have one right now and the one of the shortest strides I've ever ridden and it seems like she's gonna be able to keep up with the big dogs!! I think she will be able to make up her time in her turns too. I haven't breezed her yet but I feel like that will help as well. She carries her front legs high when she runs, just how she moves, but she's probably one of the most fun horses I've had had to season for someone!
Here's a couple videos from this weekend
https://youtu.be/oGhcKgdWUYU
https://youtu.be/mAycrIKC0ng
I have seen horses run like that before, but on the second video it looks like she is hopping on her way home(if that makes since). But I may be the off man out, but it looks like she just really likes to get her butt up underneath her when she runs, but she doesn't know how to drive out of it. She doesn't really look sore to me IMO, I would probably need to see her trotting to see if there is any difference in how she carries herself. |
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 I Want a "MAN"
Posts: 3610
Location: MD | Her front end is sore watch her going into the second barrel. It could just be the shoes. Try that and see how she feels. |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | That horse does have a problem, very short strided for a reason, I knew of a horse like this she was super tight and short strided and they later found out that she had navicular, this horse your riding is trying to take care of its self. I see that your kicking alot trying to get it to run home, she cant run for a reason, take her to a good lameness vet and find out why she wont run. Not saying she has navicular but I would rule that out.. |
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Expert
Posts: 1612
Location: Cocoa, Florida | I don't know if I elaborated enough in the beginning, this horse has never ran before, that was her first show (me in pink) I have never asked her to run, she was given to me to season and finish on pattern, that was the 2nd time I ever entered her and tried to ask her to run. Some have natural run in them but she does not.
The second video the ground was rock hard, very dry, so her stepping short trying to rate for her turn may have hurt her feet, I didn't run after tht at all realizing the ground was to hard.
I have never breezed her at all, never asked the mare to run. She carries her front legs naturally high, it's the way she moves. She has front shoes we just put on under my recommendation.
I will look further into lameness but I don't think she has a huge issue other then she needs to learn to stretch out.
Now after I breeze her and I see no improvement I will go from there |
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 Expert
Posts: 1631
Location: Somewhere around here | Honestly to me it looks like she's going on here tippy toes with her front feet. If there nothing wrong with her soundness I'd work on going over poles and working on extending her trotting stride then loping stride. |
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 Extreme Veteran
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| Even though she is green, and this is only the second time you've ran her...that doesn't mean that there's no way she is sore. I've had horses with issues before they were even broke! Haha. She may be short strided, but her gait is not normal...there is some issue going on somewhere. Hopefully you can get her feeling better and she'll start striding out in no time <3 |
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Expert
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Location: Cocoa, Florida | Katielovestbs - 2017-04-26 4:23 PM
Even though she is green, and this is only the second time you've ran her...that doesn't mean that there's no way she is sore. I've had horses with issues before they were even broke! Haha. She may be short strided, but her gait is not normal...there is some issue going on somewhere. Hopefully you can get her feeling better and she'll start striding out in no time <3
I'm definitely going to look into it, just put the shoes on so hopefully that will help. My good friend is a dvm so I will have her check her out more also! |
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 Born not Made
Posts: 2937
Location: North Dakota | I agree with the others that something just does not look right. Yes she is a short-strided horse but she looks like she's (as another poster put it) tip-toeing up to and around the barrel. She just looks uncomfortable. There's a difference in them looking unsure as they are new to the pattern versus looking like something hurts. I too feel like something looks like it hurts and she's still trying hard to do the pattern regardless.
I think it would be worthwhile for a full lameness eval .... to rule out any problems.
My Red is also (I think) a short strided horse. He tries his heart out for me though. He will clock better on smaller patterns (usually top of the 3D at larger races with big patterns) and I have to have a perfect pattern on him to get his best time. He can't make up time for mistakes. But he sure loves running barrels and he has challenged me to be a better jockey. I did whip out two really nice 1D runs (and pulled checks, a 2nd and a 3rd) the last summer we competed so I'm excited to see what he does this year after having a year off. He DOES have soundness issues that we keep at bay ... which might contribute. He still is a short-strided horse the way it is, but I do my best to keep him feeling good.
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 Neat Freak
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Location: Wonderful Wyoming | I didn't watch the video due to sucky internet connection. But some horses have a lot of knee action. Those will never stride out and do not make ideal barrel horses. Myers-FG, once told me they looked for mares that had no knee action. Because they had less wasted time picking up and setting down those feet. Some are saying the horse is sore, that may be. But if the horse is new to the game, she may just have a lot of knee action and you can't change that with training etc. Some also don't know how to RUN and will pony lope appearing to not stride out, even when they can if they learn to flatten out and haul butt. So she may get better if that is the case. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 617
| I agreed she does look like she could be sore. Does she move like that in the pasture too? The reason I ask is because it could be a saddle fit issue. If the saddle is pitching behind the withers it would inhibit her shoulder movement. It looks like she's coming along nicely though! Keep us up to date! |
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Take a Picture
Posts: 12841
| streakysox - 2017-04-26 8:20 AM
The first thing that I am going to say is that this horse is big and does not have a short stride. He had EPM so bad that he was terribly body sore and could not extend. I am trying to make a point. If a horse is not extending you need to look for the cause. The horse you are riding is NOT extending.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYhRCoi0U-A
This is the same horse this past weekend. He is well now--it has taken a long time. Notice the difference in his stride. I am not saying your horse has EPM but there is something that is not quite right.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P7_PpHfmtY
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The short strided barrel horse