Young Writers Society

I know horses are taller, but I can't find the average height of either one in FEET. I can find hands, but not a conversion chart.

I just need to know how tall they are on average and how much they weigh. I can't seem to find any comprehensive anything on these two beasts!

Here's some info:

The size of horses varies by breed. The cutoff in height between what is considered a horse and a pony is always 14.2 hands or smaller (145 cm, 58 inches), though some smaller horse breeds are considered "horses" regardless of height (including Icelandics, Morgans, Arabians, and Fjords). Light horses such as Arabians, Morgans, Quarter Horses, Paints and Thoroughbreds usually range in height from 14.0 to 17.0 hands and can weigh up to about 682 kg (1500 lb). Heavy or draft horses such as the Clydesdale, Belgian, Percheron, and Shire are usually at least 16.0 to 18.0 hands high and can weigh up to about 900 kg (2000 lb). Ponies are no taller than 14.2 hands, but can be much smaller, down to the Shetland at around 10 hands, and the Falabella which can be the size of a medium-sized dog. The miniature horse is as small as or smaller than either of the aforementioned ponies but are considered to be very small horses rather than ponies despite their size. The difference between a horse and pony is not just a height difference. They have different temperaments, different conformation, and ponies often exhibit thicker manes, tails and overall coat.

There's plenty of conversion charts if you do a google search that have hands within them, allowing you to convert them to whatever you want.

However, here's some quick info that might help:

A hand (or handbreadth) is a unit of length measurement, usually based on the breadth of a male human hand and thus around 4 inches long (about 10 cm). It is abbreviated "hh" (standing for "hands high").

Today it is only used for the height of horses in the United States and the United Kingdom. In this context, one hand equals four inches (10.16 cm), and the horse is measured from the ground to the top of the withers. So a horse that is 15 hands high (abbreviated 15 hh) is 60 inches (152 cm) from the ground to the top of the withers. Instead of decimal or vulgar fractions, a hand comprises four inch-long steps, so a horse 62 inches (157 cm) tall would be 15.2 hh (said “fifteen two hands high”).

Of Deer, I couldn't find any info on wikipedia as to average height, however, I'm sure google will help.

Remember, the average height of horses or deer won't exist -- there's many different subspecies within each that will be different. Horses, for example, are also bred to be big or small depending on their purposes -- war horses or chargers are big, massive creatures, but not all horses are that size. It depends which horses you need.

A hand equals 4 inches. And as for average heights, at least in terms of horses... it really depends on the type.

EDIT: Heh... looks like I was beat to it.

Didn't know ppl used hands...

keep writing guys and =) happy reading (=

(EDIT: Ooops, didn't see how old this was before replying *darn tiredness*)

It depends on the type of deer actually. (Just google the deer type to see a picture)

White-tailed deer: A Lighter and More slender deer:

Weight: Males: 130-300lbs or 58.5-135kg // Females: 90-210lbs or 40.5-94.5kg

Body Length: 52-95 inches or 132-241 centimeters

Shoulder height: 32-40 inches or 81-122 centimeters

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Mule Deer: A Heavy and "Stout" deer:

Weight: 110-474lbs or 50-215 kg

Head & Body Length: 39-75in or 100-190cm

Shoulder height: 35-41in or 90-105cm

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Caribou or Reindeer : A Heavier and "Stout" deer:

Weight: Female: 200-300lbs or 90.7-136kg // Male: 400-600lbs or 181-272.5kg

Body Length: 48-60in or 122-152cm

Shoulder height: 36-48in or 91-122cm

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Elk (Rocky Mountain specifically): Very Large and “Stout” deer:

Average Weight: Female: 550lbs or 250kg // Male: 850lbs or 385.5kg
--There are notable exceptions “Freaks” @ 1,100lbs or 499kg--

Average Body Length: Female: 76in or 193cm // Male: 96in or 244cm

Average Shoulder Height: Female: 52in or 132cm // Male: 60in or 152cm

---

Moose: Largest and Most Powerful deer:

Weight: 1200-1500lbs or 544-680kg

Body Length: 98-107in or 250-270cm

Shoulder Height: 78-90in or 198-229cm

One hand = four inches.

Average height depends on breed. Ponies are any horse below 14.2 hands. Average is probably between 15 and 16 hands. Draft horses are 17+ hands. The tallest can be 19 or more.