# Hands to Chains (hh to ch)

Source: https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/length/hands-to-chains/

**1 hh = 0.0050505050505051 ch**

One hand equals approximately 0.004992 chains, or about 1/200 of a chain. A chain (66 feet / 20.12 m) contains approximately 200.4 hands. Both units come from the English measurement tradition but serve different worlds: hands for horses, chains for land surveying.

## Formula

Convert Hands to Chains

## Conversion Table

| Hands (hh) | Chains (ch) |
|---|---|
| 1 hh | 0.0050505050505051 ch |
| 5 hh | 0.025252525252525 ch |
| 10 hh | 0.05050505050505 ch |
| 14 hh | 0.070707070707071 ch |
| 17 hh | 0.085858585858586 ch |
| 50 hh | 0.25252525252525 ch |
| 100 hh | 0.5050505050505 ch |
| 200 hh | 1.010101010101 ch |
| 500 hh | 2.5252525252525 ch |
| 1000 hh | 5.0505050505051 ch |
| 5000 hh | 25.252525252525 ch |
| 10000 hh | 50.50505050505 ch |

## Units

### Hand (hh)

Exactly 4 inches (10.16 cm). The standard unit for measuring the height of horses, measured from the ground to the withers.

### Chain (ch)

Exactly 66 feet or 4 rods (20.1168 m). Invented by Edmund Gunter for land surveying. 80 chains make one mile. Still used in US public land surveys.

## Background

A chain is about 200 hands long. A cricket pitch (1 chain) would fit about 12.5 horses standing nose-to-tail (at 16 hands each). When old English property records describe boundaries near stables or paddocks, converting between chains and hands helps reconcile land and equestrian measurements.

## Good to Know

The hand and chain both derive from the English foot-based system. The hand (4 inches) measures the animal; the chain (66 feet) measures the field the animal grazes in. Both are practical units born from rural English life.

## FAQ

### How many chains is 1 hand?

One hand equals approximately 0.004992 chains (about 1/200 of a chain). Since 1 hand = 4 inches = 0.1016 m and 1 chain = 20.1168 m.

### How many hands are in 1 chain?

One chain contains approximately 200.4 hands (66 feet / 4 inches per hand x 12 inches per foot = 198 hands). More precisely, 66 feet x 12 / 4 = 198.

### Is this conversion practical?

Rarely. If describing a paddock in chains and a horse in hands, converting between them could help visualize how many horses fit in a given field length.

## Non-Frequently Asked Questions

### How many horses fit nose-to-tail in one chain?

A horse is about 8 feet (24 hands) long from nose to tail. A chain is 66 feet (198 hands). So about 8.25 horses fit in one chain. A paddock 1 chain x 1 chain = about 68 horses if packed tight. Nobody packs horses this tight. They bite.

### Were horses used to measure chains?

Not directly. But horses dragged the surveyor's equipment, including the chain itself. The horse measured in hands pulled the chain measured in links across the field measured in chains. The hand-unit animal was the chain-unit transportation. A beautiful circle of measurement.

### Is a chain-length paddock big enough for a horse?

A chain (66 feet / 20 m) square paddock is about 0.1 acres. The recommended minimum paddock for one horse is about 0.5-1 acre. So a 1-chain square paddock is too small. You need at least a 2x3 chain paddock for a comfortable horse. Horses need room to be horses.

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## See Also

- [Chains to Hands](https://www.unitconvertercalculator.com/length/chains-to-hands/)