Short Striding At A Walk Only When Being Ridden?

My mare has recently been short striding on her right hind but only at a walk and only when being ridden. She is showing no signs of heat or swelling, no previous injuries, no ill fitting equipment, no sore back and still loves to work. She has no problem doing whatever I ask under saddle and plays and walks like normal in the field so I'm out of ideas. My farrier did say she has low heels in the back end but I'm trying to stay away from shoes. Help?

How long has this been going on? Based on what you wrote, I would give it a month before worrying about it unless it gets worse. It could be just about anything, a mild sprain, stone bruise, etc. I personally wouldn't worry about the low heels comment. There is a lot of difference of opinion among farriers that I know about the length of heels, and the horse being comfortable is my only concern.

Its been going on for a good 3 weeks. But her short striding fades off as she warms up and is almost undetectable after a good canter. Thanks for the tips, I'm going to give her time off.

Low heels are actually a good thing, but a lot of "old fashioned" farriers refuse to acknowledge that. It's more profitable for the farrier to shoe a horse than leave it barefoot.

I agree with the above post. Possibly just a small discomfort that only surfaces with added weight. Does she have thrush in the frog of that foot?

She may just need to warm up her muscles. My horse, Jerry, limps while trotting during warmup, but after 5-10 minutes, he's perfectly fine. She may be a little stiff and just needs to work out the stiffness.

My friends horse does the same thing, it could be the beginning of a stifle issue, just make sure you do a nice long warm up and keep an eye on it.

How are low heels a good thing? Just wondering. As for warm up she tends to work out of it as she warms up so you may be right.

I'd give her some time off and have a visit from an equine chiropractor. She could have something "off" in her lower back or hips/pelvis. I would get it looked at now, before it gets any worse.