The strength and angulation of the hindquarters are in keeping with that of the forequarters, to maintain the balance required. If hindquarter angulation is incorrect, the dog will not have a correct gait.

The croup should slope but not be steep nor flat, to complete the smooth flowing outline and is complemented by the correct turn of stifle and short rear pasterns.
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The term “hock” is sometimes taken to mean not only the actual hock joint but also the rear pasterns. When a dog is said to be “long in hocks, it indicates that there is too much length in the rear pasterns and not in the hock itself, which is the joint between the lower end of the tibia/fibula and the rear pastern.

“Hocks well let down” - Asking for “well let down hocks” is another way of asking for a long tibia/fibula and a short rear pastern.

Good hocks, well angulated, secure the maximum reach forward and thrust back as the dog propels itself in movement. Undefined, straight hocks (lacking in angulation) are not capable of reaching sufficiently far forward or back to propel the dog with the same force (drive) as those that are correctly structured. If the bones are not the correct length or the angles insufficient, there will be a loss of leverage and so a loss of power/drive in the hind action.