Hand (unit) - Use in Measuring Horses

Use in Measuring Horses

Today the hand is used for measurement of the height of horses, ponies, and other equines. It is used in several countries, including the U.S. and some that have formally adopted the metric system, such as Australia, Canada, Ireland and the UK. In most of the world, including continental Europe, and in all FEI-regulated international competition, horses are measured in metric units, usually metres or centimetres. In some countries, such as South Africa, measurements may be given in both hands and centimetres.

In those countries where hands are the usual unit for measuring horse height, inches rather than hands are commonly used in the measurement of miniature horses, miniature ponies, miniature mules, donkeys, and Shetland ponies.

A horse is measured from the ground to the top of the highest non-variable point of the skeleton, the withers. For official measurement, the spinous process of the fifth thoracic vertebra may be identified by palpation, and marked if necessary. Miniature horses, but not miniature ponies, may be measured at the base of the last true hairs of the mane rather than at the withers.

For international competition regulated by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) and for USEF competition in the US, a horse can be measured with shoes on or off. In the United Kingdom much official measurement of horses is overseen by the Joint Measurement Board (JMB). For JMB purposes, the shoes must be removed before measurement and the hooves correctly prepared for shoeing.