Hey! It's Acro here, just wanted to make a nifty equine height guide, since I know some people may struggle understanding. For starters, let's cover the basics.
'Hands Heigh' is how horses are measured. They are measured using Hands, and can be represented using Hh.
Horse heights and sizes all vary depending on breed. Every horse is different!
Height is calculated in hands. 1 hand = 4 inches. The measurement is taken from the ground to the highest point on the horse's withers
Now, increments. Height goes by .3, so for example, 17hh, 17.1hh, 17.2hh, 17.3hh, 18hh
The smallest ever horse recorded is Thumbelina, a dwarf mini measuring only 4.375 hands (17.5 inches)
The tallest horse ever recorded is Sampson, a Shire horse gelding foaled in 1846 in Toddington Mills, Bedfordshire, England. He was the tallest and heaviest horse ever recorded. Sampson stood at a whopping 21.2 1⁄2 hands (86.5 inches, 220 cm) high by the time he was four years old, when he was renamed Mammoth.
So, going from 4 hands all the way up to 21 hands, heights definitely vary! Of course, sizes like these are very rare.
The red line is where the measurement would be taken, about in the middle of the withers, at their highest point.
Since a hand is equal to four inches, you can calculate your horse's height in inches by this formula:
4 x WH + FH = Inches high
Where WH stands for the horse's whole hands, and FH stands for any fraction of the horse's height left over.
For example, a 15.2HH horse's height could be calculated as follows :
4 X WH + FH = Inches high =
4 X 15 + 2 = 62 Inches high
Below is a table that converts the average height of horses to inches, feet, and meters.
'Hands Heigh' is how horses are measured. They are measured using Hands, and can be represented using Hh.
Horse heights and sizes all vary depending on breed. Every horse is different!
Height is calculated in hands. 1 hand = 4 inches. The measurement is taken from the ground to the highest point on the horse's withers
Now, increments. Height goes by .3, so for example, 17hh, 17.1hh, 17.2hh, 17.3hh, 18hh
The smallest ever horse recorded is Thumbelina, a dwarf mini measuring only 4.375 hands (17.5 inches)
The tallest horse ever recorded is Sampson, a Shire horse gelding foaled in 1846 in Toddington Mills, Bedfordshire, England. He was the tallest and heaviest horse ever recorded. Sampson stood at a whopping 21.2 1⁄2 hands (86.5 inches, 220 cm) high by the time he was four years old, when he was renamed Mammoth.
So, going from 4 hands all the way up to 21 hands, heights definitely vary! Of course, sizes like these are very rare.
The red line is where the measurement would be taken, about in the middle of the withers, at their highest point.
Since a hand is equal to four inches, you can calculate your horse's height in inches by this formula:
4 x WH + FH = Inches high
Where WH stands for the horse's whole hands, and FH stands for any fraction of the horse's height left over.
For example, a 15.2HH horse's height could be calculated as follows :
4 X WH + FH = Inches high =
4 X 15 + 2 = 62 Inches high
Below is a table that converts the average height of horses to inches, feet, and meters.
HANDS - INCHES - FEET - METERS
• 12.0hh - 48 inches - 4 feet - 1.2192 meters
12.1 49 4ft 1 1.2446
12.2 50 4ft 2 1.27
12.3 51 4ft 3 1.2954
13.0 52 4ft 4 1.3208
13.1 53 4ft 5 1.3462
13.2 54 4ft 6 1.397
13.3 55 4ft 7 1.397
14.0 56 4ft 8 1.4224
14.1 57 4ft 9 1.4478
14.2 58 4ft 10 1.4732
14.3 59 4ft 11 1.4986
15.0 60 5ft 1.524
15.1 61 5ft 1 1.5494
15.2 62 5ft 2 1.5748
15.3 63 5ft 3 1.6002
16.0 64 5ft 4 1.6256
16.1 65 5ft 5 1.651
16.2 66 5ft 6 1.6764
16.3 67 5ft 7 1.7018
17.0 68 5ft 8 1.7272
17.1 69 5ft 9 1.7526
17.2 70 5ft 10 1.778
17.3 71 5ft 11 1.803
18.0 72 6ft 1.8288
