Understanding hands to chains Conversion
The hand (hh) is an imperial length unit of exactly 4 inches, used mainly for horse heights. The chain (ch) is a surveyor's unit equal to 66 feet (22 yards, or 792 inches), historically laid out with Gunter's measuring chain and still embedded in property boundaries, railway measurements, and the dimensions of a cricket pitch and an acre. Converting hands to chains is a niche land-measurement exercise linking a small everyday unit to a traditional surveying one.
Conversion Formula
To convert hands to chains, multiply by this factor:
Step-by-Step Example
Convert 25 hands to chains.
How to Convert hands to chains
Converting the small hand unit to a surveyor's chain gives a small decimal.
- Take the length in hands: Note the number of hands (each 4 inches).
- Multiply by 0.005050505: This is the chain equivalent of one hand.
- Keep the decimals: Since a chain is large, the result is a small fraction.
- Result: 25 hh × 0.005050505 = 0.126263 ch.
hands to chains conversion table
| hands (hh) | chains (ch) |
|---|---|
| 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 0.005050505 |
| 2 | 0.01010101 |
| 3 | 0.01515152 |
| 4 | 0.02020202 |
| 5 | 0.02525253 |
| 6 | 0.03030303 |
| 7 | 0.03535354 |
| 8 | 0.04040404 |
| 9 | 0.04545455 |
| 10 | 0.05050505 |
| 15 | 0.07575758 |
| 20 | 0.1010101 |
| 25 | 0.1262626 |
| 30 | 0.1515152 |
| 40 | 0.2020202 |
| 50 | 0.2525253 |
| 60 | 0.3030303 |
| 70 | 0.3535354 |
| 80 | 0.4040404 |
| 90 | 0.4545455 |
| 100 | 0.5050505 |
| 150 | 0.7575758 |
| 200 | 1.010101 |
| 250 | 1.262626 |
| 300 | 1.515152 |
| 400 | 2.020202 |
| 500 | 2.525253 |
| 600 | 3.030303 |
| 700 | 3.535354 |
| 800 | 4.040404 |
| 900 | 4.545455 |
| 1000 | 5.050505 |
| 2000 | 10.10101 |
| 3000 | 15.15152 |
| 4000 | 20.20202 |
| 5000 | 25.25253 |
| 10000 | 50.50505 |
| 25000 | 126.2626 |
| 50000 | 252.5253 |
| 100000 | 505.0505 |
| 250000 | 1262.626 |
| 500000 | 2525.253 |
| 1000000 | 5050.505 |
What is the Hand?
The hand is a non-SI unit of length used almost exclusively to measure the height of horses and other equines, taken from the withers (the ridge between the shoulder blades) to the ground.
Definition
One hand is defined as exactly 4 inches, or 0.1016 metre.
Heights are conventionally written with the whole number of hands, a decimal point, and the number of remaining inches (0 to 3), so "15.2 hands" means 15 hands plus 2 inches, i.e. 62 inches, not 15.2 hands in a base-ten sense. The abbreviation is often "hh" for "hands high."
Origin and History
The hand derives from the breadth of a human hand and appears among the oldest recorded units, referenced in ancient Egyptian and Babylonian metrology. In England it was standardised by statute of Henry VIII in 1541 to a fixed 4 inches, removing its dependence on the varying size of an actual hand.
Law and Notable Facts
The hand remains the legal and customary unit for equine height in English-speaking countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Ireland; most of continental Europe measures horses in centimetres instead. Because a hand is exactly 4 inches, the fractional notation ".1", ".2", and ".3" represents 1, 2, and 3 inches respectively.
Real-World Examples and Conversions
- A horse must generally stand at least 14.2 hands (58 inches, 1.4732 m) to be classed as a horse rather than a pony.
- A typical Thoroughbred racehorse stands about 16 hands (64 inches, 1.6256 m).
- The tallest horses, such as the Shire breed, can exceed 18 hands (72 inches, 1.8288 m).
- 15 hands equals 60 inches, which is exactly 1.524 m.
What is the chain?
The chain (ch) is a unit of length in the imperial and US customary systems, equal to 66 feet, traditionally used in surveying and land measurement.
Definition
One chain equals 66 feet, or 22 yards, or 4 rods.
There are 80 chains in a mile and 10 square chains in an acre. This value uses the international foot; the US survey chain is larger by a factor of 1200/1199, giving about 20.11684 m.
Origin and History
The chain is named for Gunter's chain, a physical measuring device introduced by the English clergyman and mathematician Edmund Gunter around 1620. It consisted of 100 iron links totalling 66 feet, elegantly bridging the traditional (base-4/16.5) and decimal systems: distances could be recorded in decimal links yet still yield whole numbers of acres and miles. It became the standard tool of English and American surveyors for centuries.
Law and Notable Facts
The chain underpins the US Public Land Survey System, in which section lines and township grids were laid out in chains. A cricket pitch measures exactly one chain (22 yards) between the wickets—a lasting everyday trace of the unit. The chain is now largely obsolete outside historical land records and cricket.
Real-World Examples and Conversions
- A cricket pitch is 1 chain = 22 yards = 66 ft long.
- 1 chain = 100 links = 4 rods = 20.1168 m.
- 80 chains = 1 statute mile.
- An acre is 1 chain by 10 chains (10 square chains).
Frequently Asked Questions
How many chains are in one hand?
One hand is 0.005050505 chain, since a chain is 66 feet (792 inches) and a hand is 4 inches, giving 4 ÷ 792.
How do I convert chains back to hands?
Multiply the chain value by 198, because a 66-foot chain contains 198 four-inch hands.
What is a chain used for?
The chain is a surveying unit; ten square chains equal one acre, and it defines the 22-yard length of a cricket pitch and many old property boundaries.
How many hands make up one chain?
Exactly 198 hands, since 792 inches divided by 4 inches per hand equals 198.
Is this conversion practically useful?
It is mostly a curiosity linking horse-height and land-survey units, but it can help when reconciling historical measurements recorded in mixed imperial units.
People also convert
Complete hands conversion table
| Unit | Result |
|---|---|
| Nanometers (nm) | 101600000 nm |
| Micrometers (μm) | 101600 μm |
| Millimeters (mm) | 101.6 mm |
| Centimeters (cm) | 10.16 cm |
| Decimeters (dm) | 1.016 dm |
| Meters (m) | 0.1016 m |
| Kilometers (km) | 0.0001016 km |
| light-years (ly) | 1.073913e-17 ly |
| astronomical units (au) | 6.791541e-13 au |
| parsecs (pc) | 3.292632e-18 pc |
| ångströms (angstrom) | 1016000000 angstrom |
| Mils (mil) | 4000 mil |
| Inches (in) | 4 in |
| Yards (yd) | 0.1111111 yd |
| US Survey Feet (ft-us) | 0.3333327 ft-us |
| Feet (ft) | 0.3333333 ft |
| Fathoms (fathom) | 0.05555556 fathom |
| Miles (mi) | 0.00006313131 mi |
| Nautical Miles (nMi) | 0.00005485961 nMi |
| chains (ch) | 0.005050505 ch |
| rods (rd) | 0.02020202 rd |
| furlongs (fur) | 0.0005050505 fur |