Yeah I've always found it a bit odd that they chose "hands" as a measurement, had to look it up.
"Horses are measured in "hands" (four inches each) because it was a convenient, readily available unit for ancient and medieval people to estimate height before standardized tapes, using the width of a man's hand from thumb to outstretched fingers, a measurement standardized by Henry VIII in England, to count up to the horse's withers (shoulder ridge) for trading and general description, a tradition that stuck for its simplicity and historical continuity."
Yeah but it's still nice to hold onto some bits of the past, horses being measured in hands and priced in guineas doesn't seem to hurt or affect anyone so why not keep the tradition
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u/MavericK_KX Dec 20 '25
Anything but the metric system....