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The largest muscle on the horse,  it main function is to give movement and extension to the hip (Zsoldos, et al, 2018).

There is a large amount of slow twitch fibres in this muscle from the surface and to deep within the muscle (Bruce and Turek, 1985)

A "slow and precise" rein back can aid in improving and strengthening the hind end (including the gluteus muscles) as well as trotting over cavaletti, hill work, transitional work, small jumps and leg yielding.

Zsoldos, R.R., Voegele, A., Krueger, B., Schroeder, U., Weber, A. and Licka, T.F., (2018). Long term consistency and location specificity of equine gluteus medius muscle activity during locomotion on the treadmill. BMC veterinary research, 14(1), p.126.

BRUCE, V. and Turek, R.J., (1985). Muscle fibre variation in the gluteus medius of the horse. Equine veterinary journal, 17(4), pp.317-321.

J.N

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Thin, flat, superficial muscle.

2 parts – cervical and thoracic

Where it is

CT- starts from the C2-T3 and attaches to the front of the scapular Spine and blends with fascia

A dip in front of the wither could indicate and underdeveloped cervical trapezius

TT – lies over the wither area origination from the supraspinois ligament at T3-T10 and attaches to the caudal part of the scapular spine

What does it do?

Cervical – moves shoulder up and forward

Thoracic – moves shoulder up and back

Helps hold the shoulder blade in place

Exercises to engage and develop

Trot poles – encourage the lifting of the front legs and moving of the shoulders

Working over varied terrain

Encourage the engaging of the hind legs and working in a more uphill frame

Shoulder fore, leg yield & rein back

Carrot stretches

Lunging over poles

M.A

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Function: Supports the horse's back, pulling the body forward when the foreleg is placed on the ground. It also flexes the scapulohumeral joint (shoulder).
This muscle needs to be developed (as shown) as a result of working in a hollow frame, failing to engage through the hindquarters.

Groundwork methods to develop the LD:
- Lunging and long-reining will strongly develop this muscle because the horse can stretch and work through the back increasing the engagement of the hindquarters (Cottrial et al., 2009). In addition, training gadgets/aids such as side-reins or the Pessoa can be used to further reinforce the desired effect.

Exercises in saddle:
-Hillwork; working in a longer frame up and down hills will promote the development of the LD muscle (Robert et al., 2000).
-Lateral work: e.g. leg yield and shoulder-inn are great lateral movements to aid the activity in the LD muscle because the horse has to step through underneath, engaging more through behind (hindquarters).
Oliver D