<P> The hand is a non-SI unit of measurement of length standardized to 4 inches ( 101.6 mm ) . It is used to measure the height of horses in some English - speaking countries , including Australia , Canada , the Republic of Ireland , the United Kingdom and the United States . It was originally based on the breadth of a human hand . The adoption of the international inch in 1959 allowed for a standardized imperial form and a metric conversion . It may be abbreviated to `` h '' or `` hh '' . Although measurements between whole hands are usually expressed in what appears to be decimal format , the subdivision of the hand is not decimal but is in base 4 , so subdivisions after the radix point are in quarters of a hand , which are inches . Thus , 62 inches is fifteen and a half hands , or 15.2 hh ( normally said as `` fifteen - two '' , or occasionally in full as `` fifteen hands two inches '' ) . </P>
<P> The hand is a non-SI unit of measurement of length standardized to 4 inches ( 101.6 mm ) . It is used to measure the height of horses in some English - speaking countries , including Australia , Canada , the Republic of Ireland , the United Kingdom and the United States . It was originally based on the breadth of a human hand . The adoption of the international inch in 1959 allowed for a standardized imperial form and a metric conversion . It may be abbreviated to `` h '' or `` hh '' . Although measurements between whole hands are usually expressed in what appears to be decimal format , the subdivision of the hand is not decimal but is in base 4 , so subdivisions after the radix point are in quarters of a hand , which are inches . Thus , 62 inches is fifteen and a half hands , or 15.2 hh ( normally said as `` fifteen - two '' , or occasionally in full as `` fifteen hands two inches '' ) . </P>
how many inches in a hand for measuring horses
how many inches in a hand for measuring horses
4 inches
4 inches