Converters & Lookups

Why horse owners convert units

Horse life runs on a mix of units. Height is in hands, weight is in pounds on a feed bag and in kilograms on a veterinary chart, water is in gallons and buckets, temperature is in degrees Fahrenheit in the United States and Celsius in much of the world, arenas are measured in meters in the rulebook and in feet at the hardware store, and pasture is in acres. A reliable conversion saves mistakes when you read a foreign article, a rulebook or a vet's instructions, or when you order footing.

Which converter to use

• Hands to Inches for horse height.
• Pounds to Kilograms for weights, feed and hay.
• Gallons to Liters for water and liquids.
• Fahrenheit to Celsius for temperature.
• Feet to Meters for arenas, fences and distances.
• Acres to Hectares for pasture and land.
• Cubic Yards to Cubic Feet for footing, bedding and loads.

Exact factors, not rounded guesses

The converters use exact definitions. A hand is exactly 4 inches. One foot is exactly 0.3048 meters, one pound is exactly 0.45359237 kilograms, one U.S. gallon is exactly 3.785411784 liters and one acre is exactly 4,046.8564224 square meters. Using exact figures avoids the small rounding errors that add up when you order tons of sand or measure a long fence line.

Numbers worth knowing

A resting adult horse's temperature normally falls between about 99 and 101.5 degrees Fahrenheit (37.2 to 38.6 degrees Celsius), and a reading above that range, or any reading with signs of illness, is a reason to call your veterinarian. An adult horse typically drinks about 5 to 10 gallons (19 to 38 liters) of water a day, and more in heat, in work or when nursing a foal. A standard dressage arena is 20 by 60 meters, which is about 66 by 197 feet, and a small one is 20 by 40 meters.

Common mistakes

• Reading the number after the point in hands as a decimal. 15.2 hands is 15 hands and 2 inches.
• Mixing tons. A U.S. ton is 2,000 pounds, while a metric tonne is 1,000 kilograms.
• Converting temperature by doubling. It is not a simple multiple.
• Ordering footing by area alone. Depth turns area into cubic yards.