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Why are horses measured in hands?
I was just wondering why horses and other animals are measured in hands and other animals are measured in feet.
2 Answers
- jeanetteLv 79 years agoFavorite Answer
the 'hand' was a standard unit of measurement in ancient eqypt.
why only horses now, there is only speculation--convenience.
"Where Did "Hands" Come From?
As stated above, a horse's height is measured in hands. The origin of measuring a horse this way is very old, but easy to understand. In days long ago people did not have the common measuring devices (like tape measures, etc.) that we do today. To measure a horse, they used what was handy (no pun intended): Their hands...though the origins are ancient, a hand is still the unit of measurement for horses that modern horse owners use today."
from my research, usually a horse is measure the regular way in inches, then that is converted to 'hands'.
- Donald BLv 79 years ago
A hand is approximately the size of a man's hand held sideways. It is a convenient measurement. What animals are measured by feet? Giraffes?
