# How many hands?



## calicokatt (Mar 5, 2012)

A hand being 4 inches, means your 58 inch horse is 14.2 The '.' is not a true decimal, the number after the dot indicates how many inches above 14 hands (or however many hands) the horse is. 
Your 56 inch horse would be 14 hands. Did you measure from the concrete under your horse to the very top of their withers?

If these measurements are accurate, both of your horses are ponies, as 14.2 and under is considered a pony.


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## MakeYourMark (Feb 10, 2012)

Hayleaoryan said:


> I just measured my two mares today, Montana was 58 inches which would be 14.5 hands but they don't have that on the horse profiles on here?
> 
> And Spirit my mustang was 56 inches which is exactly 14 hands.
> Isn't 14.3 considered a pony? Because she's definitely no pony.


14.5 is not a correct measurement. A hand equals four inches, so therefore 14.5 hands is 15.1 hands.

14.2 hands and under is considered a pony. Therefore, technically, your mustang is a pony. :wink:

Hope that helps!


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## apachewhitesox (Dec 9, 2010)

I always thought 14.2 and under was considered a pony. Though it can depend on whats happens to the during their younger years and you can just get some shorter horses. 

Also sorry to be picky but your mare that you say is 14.5 would actually be 15.1. There is no such thing as .5 there is 4 inches in a hand and and when you get up to .4 you are onto the next hand so instead of 14.4 it is 15. If that makes sense.


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

apachewhitesox said:


> I always thought 14.2 and under was considered a pony.


Except arguably Haflingers. They can be shorter than 14.2 hands and be considered a horse. Which is really funny lol..


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## calicokatt (Mar 5, 2012)

MakeYourMark said:


> 14.5 is not a correct measurement. A hand equals four inches, so therefore 14.5 hands is 15.1 hands.
> 
> 14.2 hands and under is considered a pony. Therefore, technically, your mustang is a pony. :wink:
> 
> Hope that helps!


This is a little confusing. The first mare is 14.2, not 15.1 14x4=56 So a horse who is 58 inches would be 14 hands, with two inches above that height, making the horse 14.2. 

When you divide the 58 inch measurement by 4, you get 14.5, but that .5 does not equal 5 inches, it equals half of 4 inches, because that is the number you divided by, make sense?


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## apachewhitesox (Dec 9, 2010)

" Except arguably Haflingers. They can be shorter than 14.2 hands and be considered a horse. Which is really funny lol.. "

Yeah lol thats why I said some horses are just short.


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

Okay every 4 inches is 1 hand. The inches left over appear after the decimal point.

So if a horse is 68 inches... that turns perfectly into 17 hands. Nothing left over.

Now if the horse is 70 inches.. that's 17 hands with 2 inches left over. So 17.2 

Does that make sense guys?


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

Height doesn't make a pony. Being a pony is a different body type to being a horse. The proportions are different. Many breeds are still considered horses even if they are under 14.2hh - Quarter horses are often 13hh, and are still horses. Caspians and Haflingers are horses no matter what height they are. The same goes for pony breeds that may go over the 14.2hh mark - they are still ponies, not horses.


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

Chiilaa said:


> Height doesn't make a pony. Being a pony is a different body type to being a horse. The proportions are different. Many breeds are still considered horses even if they are under 14.2hh - Quarter horses are often 13hh, and are still horses. Caspians and Haflingers are horses no matter what height they are. The same goes for pony breeds that may go over the 14.2hh mark - they are still ponies, not horses.


Learned something new.. well more like solidified a hunch :wink:


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

Chiilaa said:


> Height doesn't make a pony. Being a pony is a different body type to being a horse. The proportions are different. Many breeds are still considered horses even if they are under 14.2hh - Quarter horses are often 13hh, and are still horses. Caspians and Haflingers are horses no matter what height they are. The same goes for pony breeds that may go over the 14.2hh mark - they are still ponies, not horses.


Thank you. A common misconception. Our Paint mares are all 14.2-15.0 and would be terribly annoyed with anyone calling them ponies ;-)
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## CLaPorte432 (Jan 3, 2012)

I have 2 horses that are 14.0 and 14.2 hands. The good thing is, at bigger local shows, they have pony classes and we can totally kill the competition in those classes. So I can run in Pony, Horse AND Open classes. HeHeHe.


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## calicokatt (Mar 5, 2012)

Chiilaa said:


> Height doesn't make a pony. Being a pony is a different body type to being a horse. The proportions are different. Many breeds are still considered horses even if they are under 14.2hh - Quarter horses are often 13hh, and are still horses. Caspians and Haflingers are horses no matter what height they are. The same goes for pony breeds that may go over the 14.2hh mark - they are still ponies, not horses.



Not entirely true.


> po·ny   [poh-nee] Show IPA noun, plural po·nies, verb, po·nied, po·ny·ing.
> noun
> 1.
> a small horse of any of several breeds, usually not higher at the shoulder than 14 1 / 2 hands (58 in./146 cm).
> ...


I believe that the definition is also different based on where you are (eg. europe vs. the U.S.)


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## Rascaholic (Oct 4, 2010)

Ok, if a Quarter Horses is a horse, no matter the height. Where do Quarter Ponies come from? I thought QP's were QH's that never made it to 14.2 hh.
Aren't there registries out there that won't accept anything under 14.2? AQHA for one TWHBEA for another..... I could be wrong, LOL It wouldn't be the first time.

ETA: Don't most shows require 14.2+ for showing in horse categories??


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## ThirteenAcres (Apr 27, 2012)

If under 14.2 is pony sized, I've seen a LOT of QH ponies. hehe


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## xxdanioo (Jan 17, 2012)

ApHC wont register if they're too short, I know that haha. I can't recall the exact number though.


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## ThirteenAcres (Apr 27, 2012)

Rascaholic said:


> Ok, if a Quarter Horses is a horse, no matter the height. Where do Quarter Ponies come from? I thought QP's were QH's that never made it to 14.2 hh.
> Aren't there registries out there that won't accept anything under 14.2? AQHA for one TWHBEA for another..... I could be wrong, LOL It wouldn't be the first time.
> 
> ETA: Don't most shows require 14.2+ for showing in horse categories??


I've never heard of AQHA not accepting horses under 14.2. My horse is JUST 14.2. And I've seen a LOT of AQHA 14.1 horses


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

under 14.2 are considered ponies. yes there are many quarter horses that are pony size  There are quarter horses that can be 17 hands also, and in my opinion they are TB's with a quarter horse tossed in the lineage.


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## Rascaholic (Oct 4, 2010)

Well, I said I could be wrong


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## ponyboy (Jul 24, 2008)

I think the confusion over what's a horse or pony happened because English riding comes from the UK, and at the time the first show organizations were forming the only horses 14.2 or under in the UK were in fact pony breeds.

But it's pretty simple... If you're showing any horse under 14.2 can enter pony classes. If you're NOT showing then your horse is only a pony if their breed has the word "pony" in its name.


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## Hayleaoryan (May 21, 2012)

This is all quite confusing. :0

I know my horses arn't ponies though even though they measure 14 and 14.2 hands.
There's 3 different ponies out in the field where we used to keep them.


Spirit is a mustang and Montana is a Appaloosa draft horse, Montana is a pretty big horse, at least 1000 pounds. She even has to wear an x larrge halter.


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## calicokatt (Mar 5, 2012)

If Montana is the horse in your avatar, she is definitely large pony size unless you are exceptionally tall!


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

Did you measure correctly? from bottom of hoof to top of wither ? not the back.
The rule of them in my area, is under 14.2 h it is a pony. I have a 14.1 h mustang and quarter that i call small horses  . Head size does not make a horse. My fjord is small also even though she is considered a horse for the breed. Quarter horses have had the height limit removed. There is a diff between a shetland, welsh pony, and the small horse pony. the shetland and welsh are quite small  I hope you are not confused more.
It basically depends on the breed. My draft crosses are 16 hands and larger. ANd by the pic shown yours could be a pony .
And Seriously, if you are happy with them what diff would it make ? I love all my horses even the fugly ones


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## cowboy bowhunter (Mar 15, 2012)

I heard 13.3 under is a pony. What i do know is if someone called my 14.2 horse a pony they would have a broke nose.


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

Skyseternalangel said:


> Except arguably Haflingers. They can be shorter than 14.2 hands and be considered a horse. Which is really funny lol..


Same with Arabians.
A good rule of thumb is to used your own height, stand next to your horse/pony's withers are guesstimate, taller or shorter than yourself. Helps when you shop bc the uneducated assume that 16'2hh is a good thing, but have no clue it applies to height. I've heard/read about many horses for sale that were 16'2hh (to the seller) but were actually pony height.


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

The pony/horse distinction is pretty arbitrary. It's vaguely useful to have small/med/large pony classifications for kids, but doesn't make much sense for adults. 

I'm a short adult and fit well on horses (or ponies) 14-15hh. To differentiate a horse and a pony based on an inch difference between 14.2 and 14.3 in my case just seems silly


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## MakeYourMark (Feb 10, 2012)

Hayleaoryan said:


> This is all quite confusing. :0
> 
> I know my horses arn't ponies though even though they measure 14 and 14.2 hands.
> There's 3 different ponies out in the field where we used to keep them.
> ...


No, if your horses are 14 and 14.2 then they are ponies. That's just the way they are. xD It's not a bad thing, it just is.






cowboy bowhunter said:


> I heard 13.3 under is a pony. What i do know is if someone called my 14.2 horse a pony they would have a broke nose.


Nope, it is 14.2 hands. Therefore your 14.2 hh horse is a pony. 'Tis just the way it is. A pony is not a bad thing, it is just a term.


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## ponyboy (Jul 24, 2008)

MakeYourMark said:


> No, if your horses are 14 and 14.2 then they are ponies.


Totally disagree. And I say that because I like ponies!


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## MakeYourMark (Feb 10, 2012)

ponyboy said:


> Totally disagree. And I say that because I like ponies!


What on God's green earth are you talking about?

A horse that stands 14.2 hands or under is a pony. Period. End of story.

That is just the way it is. xD


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

MakeYourMark said:


> What on God's green earth are you talking about?
> 
> A horse that stands 14.2 hands or under is a pony. Period. End of story.
> 
> That is just the way it is. xD


As if anything in the horse world were so simple 

You'll get a pretty mean look from AMHA enthusiasts if you call their little guys ponies!


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

MakeYourMark said:


> What on God's green earth are you talking about?
> 
> A horse that stands 14.2 hands or under is a pony. Period. End of story.
> 
> That is just the way it is. xD


Height actually has nothing to do with it. Ponies have different PROPORTIONS to a horse. Their legs are shorter when compared to their body, and their heads are thicker. Some horse breeds have shorter members - Quarter Horses are still horses even if they are 13hh, a Quarter Pony is a mix of QH and pony, not a short QH.

Height rules were only bought in for showing. It is not a reliable thing to base your information on. For example, here in Australia, buckskins and duns are shown in the same class - all duns that is, not just bay dun. Yet palominos are in their own class. If one went by the "show" rules, then you could argue that buckskin and dun are the same thing, when we all KNOW they are not.


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