Knowing your horse’s height is important when describing him. The vet, farrier, trainer, and even your friends will probably be curious about your horse’s size. Do you know how to measure him correctly? Follow these simple steps to provide an accurate height each time!

Start by measuring your horse from the ground to the highest point of his wither in inches. It should be done with a straight line and the horse standing level.

*The wither is the ridged bone between the shoulder blades.

Now that you have their height in inches it’s time to convert that measurement into hands. Horses are measured in hands with one hand representing four inches.

Divide the inches by 4 to find out the number of hands.

Example: 61 inches divided by 4 = 15.25 or 15.1 hands (15 hands and 1 inch). The .25 is 1 quarter of the 4 inches of a hand.

Example Two: 58 inches divided 4 = 14.5 or 14.2 hands (14 hands and 2 inches). The .50 is half of the 4 inches of a hand.

There are many measuring devices on the market to make the job a little easier. However, this simple approach will help you get an accurate idea of their size without any special equipment. Give it a try!