Measuring the Height of the Horse

It is a bliss and challenge at the same time when you work with horses. You have several things to learn regarding its care. Generally, height of a horse is measured in ‘hands’. It is accurate and easy to measure your horse’s height. A good horse keeper keeps a track of the growth of his horses other than taking good care of his pets. If you are a horse keeper, love your pets and want to measure the height of your horse but do not know the method of measuring the height of the horse accurately, help yourself with the account below.

Origin of the unit-‘Hands’

Height of a horse is usually measured in ‘hands’. This is an old way of measuring a horse’s height but it is very easy to be understood. In the days of old, common measuring devices were not available to the people. Thus, to measure a horse, the people used to use ‘hand’, a handy method. With the course of time, it was standardized that the measuring unit of a hand means four inches. This unit of measuring a horse is still in use.

Devices for Measuring Horse Height

Several devices are available in market that have hand and inches measurements marked on them. There are some devices that are very handy and give exact measurements conveniently. These devices are firm poles with short cross bars towards the top that can be raised or lowered to rest on withers of a horse.

Special tape measure is another common device which has hands and inches marked on it. These devices are not expensive and give an exact result provided the tape is run straight up and down and the measurement is read at a level angle.

How to Measure the Height of a Horse

To find out what is the height of your horse, follow the instructions given below-

• Be clear about the concept of the unit ‘hands’. As mentioned above, a hand means four inches. So, if your horse is nine hands high, it means he is thirty-six inches high.
• Always measure the height of the horse from the floor in a straight line up to the highest point of its withers. You will get the most accurate measurement if it is ensured that the horse that has to be measured is standing on a firm and levelled ground and its front feet are even.
• The easiest method is to measure the height of your horse with a measuring stick. It will accurately measure and tell you how tall is your horse in ‘hands’.
• If it is difficult for you to find a horse measuring stick, a measuring tape can be used instead. Take the total number of inches it shows and then divide them by four. You will get the number of hands.
• While measuring your horse never make calculations in ‘round off’ style. Always be accurate.

Write the results correctly like the very correct way of writing ‘15 and one-half hands’ is to write ‘15.2’. It is not correct to write it as 15.5’. When correctly written, the number before the period is the number of hands and the number after the period is the remaining number of inches. The number after the period should never show a fraction. Now, after you have completed reading the details of measuring the height of the horse, you must be very clear with how to do it properly and thus you will do it at your own now.