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1 A hand is equal to 4 inches or 10.2cms. 2  You should measure your horse from the point of the withers to the ground. 3  A horse that is 61 inches tall is 15.1 hands or 15 hands and 1 inch or 15.1hh. 4  This is calculated using (61/4 = 15.25); the .25 is the decimal equivalent of one quarter and a quarter of 4 = 1; so 15.1hh.
A horse is measured from the ground (front hoof) in a straight line up to the highest point of the withers (above the shoulder, where the back and neck meet, roughly where the mane ends). The average Quarter Horse is about 15 hands, times 4 = 60 inches, so about five feet tall from hoof to withers. Hanovarians can be as tall as 17 or 19 hands. Horses are measured in hands, which represent the width of the average man's palm, standardized at four inches.