Traditionally a horses height has been measured in hands, 1 hand = 4 inches, so a 17.2hh = 70 inches which equals 178cm. As well as hands people are now referring to their horses height in cm`s. Below we take a look at a horse height conversion chart.
| Hands |
Inches |
Feet |
Centimetres |
| 12hh |
48 |
4ft |
121.92cm |
| 12.1hh |
49 |
4ft 1 |
124.46cm |
| 12.2hh |
50 |
4ft 2 |
127cm |
| 12.3hh |
51 |
4ft 3 |
129.54cm |
| 13hh |
52 |
4ft 4 |
132.08cm |
| 13.1hh |
53 |
4ft 5 |
134.62cm |
| 13.2hh |
54 |
4ft 6 |
137.16cm |
| 13.3hh |
55 |
4ft 7 |
139.7cm |
| 14hh |
56 |
4ft 8 |
142.24cm |
| 14.1hh |
57 |
4ft 9 |
144.78cm |
| 14.2hh |
58 |
4ft 10 |
147.32cm |
| 14.3hh |
59 |
4ft 11 |
149.86cm |
| 15hh |
60 |
5ft |
152.4cm |
| 15.1hh |
61 |
5ft 1 |
154.94cm |
| 15.2hh |
62 |
5ft 2 |
157.48cm |
| 15.3hh |
63 |
5ft 3 |
160.02cm |
| 16hh |
64 |
5ft 4 |
162.56cm |
| 16.1hh |
65 |
5ft 5 |
165.1cm |
| 16.2hh |
66 |
5ft 6 |
167.64cm |
| 16.3hh |
67 |
5ft 7 |
170.18cm |
| 17hh |
68 |
5ft 8 |
172.72cm |
| 17.1hh |
69 |
5ft 9 |
175.26cm |
| 17.2hh |
70 |
5ft 10 |
177.8cm |
| 17.3hh |
71 |
5ft 11 |
180.3cm |
| 18hh |
72 |
6ft |
182.88cm |
Why Are Horses Measured In Hands?
The reason that horses are measured are hands date back to the days when rulers were not commonly owned so people used body parts to measure, hence the width of the average hand is around 4 inch`s, this was then standardised for conversion. Other body parts were also used for measuring things for example a foot is around 12 inches.
This measurement is taken from the highest point of the withers, roughly in the middle, to the floor.
Horses Large & Small
Miniature Horses
Small Horse, Big Horse
Horse Giant
Einstein - The Smallest Horse
Einstein is one of the smallest horses in the world, 35.5cm which is just over 4 hands in height.
She Will Grow Into Him
Brooklyn Supreme - The Worlds Largest Horse
Brooklyn Supreme is the worlds largest horse weighing 3200 pounds and standing at 19.2hh (converted to 195cm).
Hands to Feet Horses - Horses are measured in hands, one hand = 4 inches so one foot is equal to 3 hands, so a 16.2hh horse is 5 1/2 feet in size.
- horse hands to feet
