Performance And Hind Hoof Angle (cont'd) Affect On Muscles Consider how low/no hind heels affect the underdeveloped or overdeveloped extensor muscles of the croup or rump area. Imagine adding 100 pounds of rider weight to the horse and having the hind legs move from an already strained starting position. The gluteus medius and gluteus superficialis are the primary extensors of the hi p joint. They work hard to propel the animal forward but can never reach the phase of extension where the biceps famous and semitendinous muscles develop to build a good, round rump. I worked on a heading rope horse that made two runs only to have its overdeveloped gluteus medius and gluteus superficialis muscles cramp and seize up. The horse had a pronounced muscle mass bump on its croup, and the cowboy would have to wait a couple hours for contraction spasms to subside before loading the horse in the trailer. Applying 3-degree bar heel wedge pads on the hind shoes straightened the horse out in a week. Its biceps femoris and semitendinous muscles began to develop and the cramping spasms subsided. Affect On Bones A low/no hind heel also affects the bones of the lower back and hind legs. Imagine removing all the heel from the hind feet of a horse with good conformation (F igure 2). This moves the hind feet forward under the trunk and causes the butt to dip. The bones of the pelvic area shift while muscles, tendons and ligaments are unduly stretched in the extensor groups and unduly contracted in the flexor groups.

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