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  Discussion on Long Pasterns in a TB/DW Yearling
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Member:
sam1128

Posted on Tuesday, Apr 7, 2009 - 12:31 am:

I just had a couple questions on my colt. His mother is a TB and his father is a DW by Idocus a dressage stallion. His father was a jumper, mother a hunter.

He seems to have longer pasterns and a little slopier then other conf. pictures of hunter bred yearlings I have seen. I wasn't sure if this also has to do with the fact he is 3/4th TB and that he will probably end up over 16.2. (he is 15 hands now)

I will post a conf. shot of him this week, mind he just had colic surgery in Feb, so he is lacking muscle tone at this point due to having to be on stall rest. He gets off stall rest in 2 more weeks. he has been only hand walking for the last 2 months. Could that also have an effect on his pasterns angles?

I am just curious if he does indeed have long pasterns and what that means. Is that a slight conf. defect and what does it mean for his future?

It seems the hunter breeding babies I have seen that are very upright always have short pasterns and they don't seem to ever move on to a performance career.

ace 2009
Member:
canderso

Posted on Tuesday, Apr 7, 2009 - 7:21 am:

Hi Samantha,
Think of pasterns as the shock absorbers for the horse.... like springs. They store and transmit power from the foot up through the leg. This helps generate power for the horse, it also helps protect the bones and soft tissue structures in the leg.

Short upright pasterns have little or no ability to absorb pressure...the spring is very short and very stiff. So that means two things: no ability to generate power - so no 'float' in the movement - and all those forces get jammed right onto the bones, ligaments etc.. Result? Injury.

Long pasterns like we see in this picture are somewhat able to absorb and transmit energy but the angles are wrong, so energy gets transmitted unevenly - the spring is too long and not coiled tightly enough and is coiled unevenly.

So while you might get the 'float' in the movement, you are not loading the energy onto the bones or ligaments in an even fashion. Result? Injury.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Apr 7, 2009 - 8:37 am:

Samantha,
I think it is reasonable to think as he grows those the pasterns will become more proportional and as he strengthens a bit more upright in the front.
DrO
Member:
jjrichar

Posted on Tuesday, Apr 7, 2009 - 9:36 am:

I have seen horses with short pasterns, long pasterns and everything in between. My experience is that horses w longer pasterns are smoother and less 'choppy' when they move. Shorter pasterns seem to me, to set horses up for navicular disease more than longer pasterns do.

Yes, it is ideal to have proportional shoulder to pastern angles, but he is still growing and youngsters will become disproportional especially at the yearling age. Hence, the term 'ugly yearling'. I remember doing our best to hide those yearlings in a back pasture!

Anyhow, I think your guy will be just fine. You may want wrap him to support his tendons during workouts, etc. Also, it is imperative that his hooves are trimmed or shod to keep his bony column in alignment. Standing this horse (or any horse for that matter) too upright on his toes or too down on his heels could lead to more problems than anything else.

I say you have a very nice colt on your hands that will grow very nicely into himself!
Member:
sam1128

Posted on Wednesday, Apr 8, 2009 - 1:17 am:

He did have a very traumatic surgery in Feb. I think that his pastern angle has got worse since he has been stuck in his stall. His shoulder angle doesn't look too different then his pastern angle, I am not sure I understand that.
He is very butt high right now and right about 13 months, so I am sure he could be in a weird growing stage. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't anything to be concerned about.
Is this pastern type and angle more conducive to TB's? As I said he is 3/4th TB, so I was just curious if this is a trait. Alot of the WB's I see have very short and upright pasterns as well as many of the hunter breeding horses.
Member:
sam1128

Posted on Wednesday, Apr 8, 2009 - 1:29 am:

Here is a picture from before his surgery. I will also post one of him at 4 months. I am just wondering if it is just a growing stage.

He is very tall, so I am just not sure!

Ace 4 months
Member:
sam1128

Posted on Wednesday, Apr 8, 2009 - 1:30 am:

here is the one from a few months ago...Ace before surgery
Member:
jjet

Posted on Wednesday, Apr 8, 2009 - 7:43 pm:

I'll bet he's just in an awkward growth spurt; his pasterns looked good at 4 months. Now he has a great deal more weight to carry, for his age. Uneven growth is a hallmark of youth. He looks more mature than a yearling to me - gotta be hard on those pasterns! I will say he's among the handsome ones! I'd go easy on the feed, though; he looks like he's carrying a little extra for his age. Lean is healthier than fat (I know, I've finally learned my lesson and all my horses are definitely better for it!)
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