How to measure a Horse
Measuring a horse helps you to know whether your horse is growing or not. So, how do you measure a horse? Is it done from hoof to head? Or from the tip of the tail to the tip of the nose? But why do we refer to a horse's height as “hands” ? We all know horses don’t have hands - right?
Some countries use centimeters where the metric system is standard. Many regions a horses' height is measured using hands or four-inch increments measurement method.
This measurement was derived in ancient Egypt.
For example: Horse height is 60 inches from the ground- height of horse is 15 hands high (15HH)
When fitting a girth to a horse make sure there is enough space between the horse body and girth approx three to four finger space. Girth should be snug, not tight but fit enough that the saddle won’t slip or move.
Hands High (HH)
The height of the horse should be measured from the ground to the top point of the withers, or from the ridge between their shoulder blades.Some countries use centimeters where the metric system is standard. Many regions a horses' height is measured using hands or four-inch increments measurement method.
This measurement was derived in ancient Egypt.
For example: Horse height is 60 inches from the ground- height of horse is 15 hands high (15HH)
Tape Measure
To measure a horse correctly, owners or caretakers may use a tape measure, or a length of string or twine you can mark and measure later with a ruler. For best results, you can use a measuring tool with hands marked easily alongside inches and centimeters. But make sure the horse is standing on flat level ground with its front feet as close to even as possible. Before measuring, confirm that you need to measure with or without shoes. (Jimmy Choo or Manolo Blahnik - yes please!)Measuring heart girth
To measure the girth, take one end of a measuring tape and place it at your horse withers. Wrap that tape around the horse's left side and take it down to a couple of inches behind the horse’s front legs. Then take it under the belly and around the right side until you reach the place from where you started measuring. Tape should be at a slight angle while measuring. Note the horse heart girth (in inches), divide it by 2 and then subtract 3 from your answer. In case your answer is in an odd number, it is usually rounded up to an even number because in previous times English girth is mainly measured in even numbers.When fitting a girth to a horse make sure there is enough space between the horse body and girth approx three to four finger space. Girth should be snug, not tight but fit enough that the saddle won’t slip or move.
Measuring horse length
To measure the horse length (in inches), it will be measured from the shoulder's point to hip point. Use a tape and that tape should be at a slight angle as shown in the image.To calculate the body weight
- Multiply the heart girth by heart girth
- Then multiply the above results with body length
- Divide the answer with 300
- Then add 50 in the results
- Total result is approx the horse weight
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