As a heeler, how do I read the steer's stride to time my loop delivery?

Reading the steer's hind stride is the foundation of heeling, and it starts with your eyes — you need to be watching the steer's hocks, not the header, not the rope, not the ground. The heel loop delivers into the window between the steer's feet as the hind legs separate in stride. The exact timing cue varies slightly by roper but most experienced heelers key their release to the moment the steer's right hind foot drives back, which opens the gap and gives the loop a clean path under both legs. Your swing must be synchronized so that the release happens naturally at that moment — you're not watching the hocks and then reacting, you're developing feel so the release becomes intuitive. Position matters as much as timing: you need to be about one horse length off the header's right hip, matching speed through the turn, with your horse's nose near the steer's hip. Getting too close eliminates your loop space; falling too far back puts you out of position before the steer straightens. Practice on a heading dummy pulled by a four-wheeler to develop muscle memory for the delivery without the pressure of a live run.