When measuring in hands, partial hand widths are expressed in inches. So a horse that is 14.2 hands is 14 hands plus 2 inches. The total inches would be 58 inches. A horse could never be said to be 14.5 inches, as the number after the decimal is not a fraction, but represents an entire inch. If a horse is 14.2 1/2 HH, that means he’s two and one-half inches over 14 hands.
https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-measure-a-horses-height-1887322
Properly Measuring Your Horse's Hooves. Not all horses need to wear shoes. In fact, some horses experience less hoof-related problems by going barefoot. The only drawback with a barefoot horse is the lack of hoof protection can sometimes lead to injury from hard surfaces, sharp stones, and other hazards.
https://www.horse.com/horse-articles/properly-measuring-your-horses-hooves/9870/
Horse Height Conversion. Information: A Hand is a unit of measure equal to 4 inches, used to measure the height of a horse at the highest point of the withers. The number of whole hands is properly followed by a period, then the remaining height in inches. Thus a horse who measures 5 feet and two inches at the withers would be designated 15.2 hands.
http://www.onlineconversion.com/horse_height.htm
It is a common unit of measurement now used only for quantifying the height of the horse. Tracing a tradition backward is a dicey proposition. We know that today a hand is 4 inches, with one inch increments, and the measurement is from level ground to the highest non-variable skeletal structure on the horse, the withers.
https://www.biologycorner.com/worksheets/articles/hands_horses.html
Hands, a traditional British way of measuring horses that's still used in the United States, are units composed of four inches (the approximate width of a hand). Centimeters are used in Europe and many countries outside the United States to describe a horse’s height.
http://www.thehorse.com/articles/34946/how-to-measure-a-horse
Try to measure the hooves after a trim for better accuracy. Begin by lifting the horse's foot and placing it between your legs. The foot should be positioned so that the bottom of the hoof is facing you. Now that you have easy access to the hoof, clean it out thoroughly with a hoof pick and brush.
https://www.horse.com/horse-articles/properly-measuring-your-horses-hooves/9870/
Measure the length of your horse's hoof by placing the tape measure across the middle of the front of the hoof or the toe and stretch it straight back to the middle of the back of the hoof, commonly known as the buttress.
https://www.horse.com/horse-articles/properly-measuring-your-horses-hooves/9870/
If you’re using a measuring tape in inches and feet, convert the measurement by dividing the total inches measured by 4. Any remaining inches are kept as inches. A horse that measures 62 inches is 15 hands 2 inches, or 15 and a half hands (2 inches is half of 4 inches). This height is written in shorthand as 15.2 H. Note that when describing a measurement of a horse in hands, the “.” is not a decimal point, and that 15.2 H meant to be read as 15 (hands) 2 (inches).
http://www.thehorse.com/articles/34946/how-to-measure-a-horse
If a measuring tape is being used, conversion of the measurement from inches to hands is required. One hand equals 4 inches (10.2 cm), so divide the measurement by 4. For example, if the horse measures 71 inches (180.3 cm), divide 71 by 4 inches. The result is 17 hands with 3 inches (7.6 cm) left over.
http://www.wikihow.com/Measure-the-Height-of-Horses
When a horse measures one half hands, indicate the measurement with .2 and not with .5. A horse measuring stick is the easiest way to measure a horse quickly and accurately. The height of an average horse is roughly 16 hands. A horse measuring under 14.3 hands high is, by definition, a pony, regardless of breed.
http://www.wikihow.com/Measure-the-Height-of-Horses
how big is a hand when measuring a horse
When measuring a horse a hand is 4 inches big. A hand is 4 inches in measuring of a horse.