01/20/2020
Horse short striding in the front? Maybe a bit "off"? Maybe their shock absorbers are "burned out"..... better call a mechanic before their wheels blow off completely!
Biomechanically speaking, just like your truck, your horse has his own suspension system that helps him to survive those nasty potholes and bumps in the road that inevitably appear when he is striding out confidently believing that all is well. The equine shock absorbers we are speaking of are the ones that absorb the weight of the front end of the horse, where 70% of their body weight is situated. Add the increased force to the front end in speeds like the gallop, and you can see the reason why God supported the weight of the abdominal cavities which contain the mass of the organs with such a brilliant suspension system.
The front limbs of the horse are not connected to their body by a joint, like humans are. Those who have have ever dressed out a deer or an elk have noticed that their blade slides easily through the muscle that attaches the front limb to the body of their game. The muscles that hold the front limb to the animal are officially named: the serratus ventralis, the pectorals, and the subclavius. These muscles are also what allows the horse (and many other prey animal species) to rapidly extend their stride instantaneously to flee an incoming predator.
So what happens when these shock absorbers go out?
Just like your truck, when the shock absorbers go out, the ride gets really rough and everything starts to just shake apart. For the horse, this means that the front feet hit the ground harder, which creates more stress on the sophisticated suspension system of the lower limbs and more stress on the hoof itself, (which we would at this point pray is properly balanced so that it can somewhat at least keep the inevitable added stress being applied to it symmetrical). It would also cause extra stress on everything above the failed shock absorbing system such as the cervical vertebrae as well as the poll/atlas junction. Basically, without a properly operating shock absorber system, the horse gets a beating to the head with every hard hitting footfall of their front limbs. With this picture in mind, it is easy to see why a horse would choose to tentatively stride out (if they choose to stride out at all) instead of confidently reach forward for the ground.
So how do we maintain these shock absorbers?
This, thankfully, is not so hard to do- even for the backyard mechanic. Providing that your horse has not been diagnosed with a front limb issue as the primary cause of the failed shock absorber system, keeping the muscles that hold the front limb to the body soft and supple is not a difficult task. In order to do this, here are the steps: let's start on the left side of the horse first. Hold your horses halter in your left hand and flex his head towards you, at the same time take your right hand and with down pointed fingers find the edge of the scapula on the horse (keeping in mind that in horses with restricted shock absorbers- aka "glued to their body" (aka - toasted shock absorbers) the outline of the limb may not be so evident at first). Apply pressure in a downward motion with your right hand, so that your fingers find the glide between the scapula and the thorax of the horse. Repeat the other side. If this is not easily done, your horses shock absorbers are in need of maintenance, and if proper shock absorbing properties are not restored, the front feet are unfortunately in danger of lameness issues. Continue trying to soften the muscles beneath your fingers behind the scapula, go slowly and wait for the horse to relax as deeper pressure is applied. Also front limb stretches forward, back, and laterally to the side will help release the adhesions.
What if I "fix" the shock absorbers, but my horse is still off in the front?
Unfortunately, we will never know what was created first, the chicken or the egg. In the same respect, we do not know if the shock absorbers left first- or if they left after our horses feet became so imbalanced and painful that they had to do whatever they could to lift their weight off their front end- In this case, what was intended to be the shock absorber turns into the only biomechanical option for the horse to brace away from the pain of touching his front feet to the ground. In this scenario, a skilled farrier can assist you by creating proper balance and comfort to the entire structure of the horse. Once the feet are correct, the shock absorbing system can easily be maintained.
