Hands

Traditionally the size of a horse is measured in hands, where a hand equals four inches. The measurement is taken at the withers of the horse.

Hands

So,

15 hands	= 15 x 4 = 60 inches = 5 feet
16.2 hands	= 16 x 4 + 2 = 66 inches = 5 feet 6

When is a Horse a Pony?

The accepted definition is that under 14.2 hands it's a pony, above 14.2 hands it's a horse. Of course you get ponies that grow more than expected and horses that don't, so it's far from a clear cut division and leads to many grey areas.

By tradition Polo ponies are always 'ponies' and Arabs are always 'horses'.

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