by Linda Ann Nickerson

Created on: February 27, 2007   Last Updated: June 25, 2009

GIVE YOUR HORSE A HAND
(HOW MANY?)

See if you can figure this out.

Our sleek thoroughbred hunter-jumper stands exactly 16 hands high. His flashy Arabian pasture pal, however, is only 15 hands tall. And our sturdy, dependable Paint pleasure horse is 15.3 hands. How tall are these three horses?

WHY DO WE MEASURE HORSES IN HANDS, NOT FEET?

Popular legends abound, as to why horses have been measured by hand. Apparently, ancient horse traders needed a method of measuring horses for sale. Stacking one man's fist upon another was the simplest system. Through the years, horses have come to be measured by hand.

Throughout the pages of human history, man's body parts have been commonly used as standard units of measurement. A cubit once referred to the length of an average man's forearm. A foot became a standard for shoe sizing.

Ever since those early times, horses have been measured in hands. As centuries passed, even as the foot came to mean twelve inches, the hand was standardized to mean four inches (approximately 10 cm.).

COUNT IT OUT ON BOTH HANDS.

Here's how the equine mathematic equation works out. If a horse stands 16 hands high (hh), then he is really 64 inches (or 5'4") tall. A horse who is 16.3 hh is 67 inches (or 5'7") tall. Following this rule, a 68" tall horse would be called 17 hh. (There is no 16.4, because the fourth inch would make such a horse 17 hh.)

HOW ARE HORSES MEASURED TODAY?

For an accurate measurement of a horse's stature, a stiff measuring stick must be used. These special rulers are available at saddleries and tack stores and online at equine supply catalog houses. The equine measuring stick has a cross-bar that is placed at the horse's withers, somewhat like a giant slide-rule.

A horse must stand on a flat, level surface for truly accurate measuring. The horse's withers would be the bony spot at the lowest end of his mane (where his neck and back meet) just in front of where the saddle is placed when he is tacked up for a ride. When a horse puts his nose and mouth to the ground, the withers is the highest point of his skeleton.

It's important to measure a standing horse several times, as an equine may shift his weight or stand unevenly. Total and average your findings to get the most accurate measurement of your horse.

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

It is important to know the height (in hands) of a horse for breed registration, horse show class entries, and equine marketing. Equine appraisers and horse show judges may rate a horse's physical conformation, and his stature is a key feature.

ANSWERS:

Our thoroughbred stands 5'4" (or 64 inches) tall. The Arabian is 5' (or 60") tall. Our pretty Paint is 5'3" (or 63") tall.

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