Hand (unit) divided by four, then the remainder is added after the radix point. Thus, a horse that measures 60 inches is 15 hands high (15 x 4 = 60) and a horse halfway between 15 and 16 hands is 15.2 hands, or 62 inches tall (15 x 4 + 2 = 62) Because the subdivision of a hand is a base 4 system, a horse 64 inches high is 16.0 hands high, not 15.4. A designation of "15.5 hands" is not halfway between 15 and 16 hands, but rather reads 15 hands and five inches, an impossibility in a base 4
Tree height measurement length, and by moving your arm up and down; 2) once aligned, measure the distance from the top of your hand grasping the base of the stick to your eye; 3) measure the distance from the top of your hand to the top of the stick; 4) measure the distance from your eye to the base of the tree. So long as the yardstick is held straight up and down and the top of the tree is vertically over the base, the various measurements are still proportional and then you can calculate the height of the tree using a simple