Convert hand to foot (US survey) Online | Free Length Converter

Hand

A hand is a traditional unit of length primarily used to measure the height of horses. It is equal to 4 inches or 10.16 centimeters.

The origin of the hand as a measurement comes from using the width of a human hand, and it has been standardized at 4 inches for consistency in horse measurement. Horse height is expressed in "hands," measured from the ground to the highest point of the withers (the ridge between the shoulder blades).

Key points:

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  1 hand = 4 inches

  
  
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  1 hand = 10.16 centimeters

  
  
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  Used mainly for measuring horse height

  
  
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  Horse height is often given in hands and inches, e.g., 15.2 hands means 15 hands plus 2 inches

  
  

The hand remains the standard unit for horse height in many English-speaking countries.

Foot (US Survey)

The US survey foot is a unit of length used historically in the United States for land surveying and mapping. It is defined as exactly 1200/3937 meters, which is approximately 0.3048006096 meters. This makes it very slightly longer than the international foot, which is exactly 0.3048 meters.

The US survey foot was established to maintain consistency with earlier land surveys and legal descriptions in the U.S. It was used extensively in the Public Land Survey System and other cadastral surveys.

Key points:

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  1 US survey foot = 1200/3937 meters ≈ 0.3048006096 meters

  
  
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  Slightly longer than the international foot by about 0.0006 millimeters

  
  
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  Used primarily in land surveying and legal documents

  
  
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  As of recent years, the US has been phasing out the US survey foot in favor of the international foot for standardization.

  
  

Though nearly identical to the international foot, the US survey foot remains important for understanding older land records and measurements.