Does my horse gracie have long pasterns? How do you determine if they are long or not?

To me they look pretty long, I usually compare the pasterns to the rest of the leg for the length.

 How much wpuld this affect her jumping? I don't want her to break down.

 Are just her front ones long, or all 4?

I found this reference:  "The best length for the pastern is 1/2 to 3/4 the length of the cannon bone".  So, go get your tape measure!

It's a little difficult to tell from this picture, since her front legs are rather spayed out and she's stepped way under with the right hind.  I *think* they might be a little long, but also a shade upright.  What's her stride like?   

 Her stride is very difficylt to measure. She has the most bounciest trot you can imagine, and her canter is smooth.

I'll measure it tomorrow and we'll see. Upright? Is that really bad? Will it interfere with her jumping? 

A long sloping pastern used to be considered a liability but research has shown that a long sloping pastern is actually better, more resistant to injury, than a short upright one.  The pastern is the leg's shock absorber and it needs to sink and flex with each stride in order to absorb the shock of the hoof hitting the ground.  With short, upright pasterns, elevated stress is put on joints and tendons that aren't meant to absorb it.  Your mare's pasterns do look like they are longish, but are upright, which generally results in a movement that is not as smooth as it could be, which you have noticed at the trot.  As far as jumping, low level jumping should be fine for her, but I would be a bit cautious about how high you go and just keep an eye on her and see if the joints show any stress (swelling, heat) or she is sore.  It just means that she could have a somewhat higher risk of a suspensory injury or flexor related strain/injury.  But not a cause for immediate panic or worry, just something to keep in mind, like most minor conformation flaws. 

 Thanks. I'm afraid of heights so anything above 3' will be scarry enough. so I'll probably go no higher that that. It all depends on how i can deal with it I guess. Low level is fine with me. If I get my nerve up i might have to get another horse for it huh? I have had an x-dressage horse with that problem. His fetlocks were practically touching the ground. 

They look pretty long to me. Usually when a horse has long pasterns, they act like shock absorbers. Are her gaits pretty smooth? American Saddlebreds have very long pasterns, which is one of the reasons they are a smooth ride. 

 She is a a TB and her trot is really bouncy. I still have a problem sitting it because she bonces so fast I can't keep up with it. My friend had a QH and when he passed, I let her try to ride my TB and she got bounced out of the seat. It was kinda funny since she didn't get hurt. Thanks

Hi Dukey - I would not have said particularly long but certainly upright - too straight - puts pressure on the tendons and has the potential to cause in some cases bowed tendons - not much you can do about it, thats her conformation - the pasterns act as shock absorbers and if you look at some racehorse pictures with them at full gallop, sometimes you can see the pastern almost parrellel to the ground - so your horse will be limited a little in that respect - you can help by using support bandages when you ride, for protection - use a really good farrier - you may need graduated shoes or shoes with calkins - as for the bounce in the trot - you need to slow the trot and get her on her back end - relax into the saddle and try to sit deep, dont grip with your knees and use your calves to keep the forward under control.  Good luck with it

 Thanks for the tips. I'll see if I can get those shoes. She not use to wearing shoes though. For a while the people who had her before me used only fronts. I kept it up until about a year and a half ago. I wasn't doing this kind of work so I didn't really see the need to put them on. I'll also work on my trot the way you said to do it.

You won't need to add shoes just for this unless she is lame without them.  If she's doing fine barefoot, absolutely leave her that way.  :-) 

 Good. She is perfectly fine without them but i have noticed the farrier had told me that once i start jumping her more that she would at least front shoes. He didn't explain why and I didn't ask because i can't really practice for a while. I figured when it  gets time I'll get all the info. Thanks