How to Convert Hands to Inches When Measuring Horses

Before the advent of modern measurement devices, people used measures based on parts of the body. This is how a horse's height came to be measured in "hands." Today a hand is a standard measure, equal to 4 inches. A typical horse might measure from 13 to 16 hands in height, depending on breed. This comes to around 4 to 5 1/2 feet. Knowing that a hand equals 4 inches, converting hands to inches is a simple matter of multiplying inches by 4.

Things You'll Need

  • Paper and pencil
  • Calculator
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Determine a number of hands that you want to convert. For example, suppose your horse's height is 15 hands. Write that on a piece of paper.

    • 2

      Multiply the number of hands by 4. In the example, 15 --- 4 = 60. Write your answer on the paper. In this case, 15 hands = 60 inches.

    • 3

      Check your answer online at a site that converts horse heights. For example, navigate to the Online Conversion site for Horse Height Conversion. Enter "15" in the box to the right of "Enter height in hands." Click the "Convert" button and read the answer of 60 inches next to "Height in inches."