Do some horses pull more with one diagonal (pair of legs at the trot) than the other when they are pulling/driving?
Horse may be one-sided, so it could pull/reach forward slightly more with preferred side going forward. Right or left dominant handed people will work the less favored hand harder in athletics like swimming. So they damage the less dominant shoulder by over-working it. I would think a horse with a very dominant side could easily have a longer reach on one side.
Could be from an old injury. We had one who was short-strided on her right front, so leg didn’t move as far forward as the other front leg. We did a LOT of work with her to develop the left side, did finally get her appearing to be even-stride lengths later in life.
This is one reason we check to make sure any horse gets equal work on both sides to keep body developed going in both directions.
I have heard over the years (from many reliable horse people & trainers) that horses do have a dominant side. And just like humans are predominantly right handed, horses tend to be left handed (cant guarantee that this is true, but seems to hold up on scrutiny)
What it really means is that most horses find it easier to do things in one direction over the other, so it takes a bit more work on your part to make sure that their learning is equal work for both sides
Our Cooper is much better clockwise than counterclockwise and this shows up most in getting the lead at the canter - sometimes his front and back ends are just not connected going that way
If you are finding the horse pulling more on one side, the first thing Id check is how well you are asking for straightness and balance
Given a choice they will go for their easier side
Horse has a slight neck raise with the left front on the ground and doesn’t reach quite as far with the right front leg. At times it feels as though the cart moves forward more with one diagonal than the other, but it’s not consistent, and quite subtle. No obvious lameness, only does it while driving, not noticeable while riding or on a lunge line or in long lines. Does it mostly on a straight away at a faster trot. That’s why I’m wondering if it’s a muscle imbalance. Horse is slightly more right handed, bends better to the right, but prefers left lead canter.
Do the hooves match in both pairs, mirror opposites? Sometimes non-matching hooves will point at a problem. Equal musculature on both shoulders? Both sides of hindquarters? These signs could also help you see horse with issues.
Ours with the injury, was unequal in muscling. She did not short-stride EVERY stride, but it was obvious to a good watcher. Worse to the left.
Might or might not be able to pin-point the prolem area where horse could have been injured. Took us 3 more years, with some excellent clinicians’ help, to finally find her problem. This was after initial leg workup of doing the blocks on leg, from ground to withers, with no results!
A very good Farrier might have seen more horses with issues, be able to help you out with this intermittent short striding.
thanks goodhors,
He is mis-matched in front. Has a bit more upright right front hoof. I wonder if that could be it? I have to take an observer’s word on the short striding because I can’t see it myself from the cart. I haven’t seen it on a lunge line or anything else, so I have to believe it’s some imbalance issue that comes out when he’s bearing a load, pulling forward. Could be a very subtle lameness though, he’s had his share of NQR episodes.
These kind of subtle things often show up more driving because of how they use the shoulders and the effect of the collar on the shoulder - May show more with a breast collar than a full collar
