Terminology
It may be abbreviated to "h", or "hh". The "hh" form is sometimes interpreted as standing for "hands high." When spoken aloud, hands are stated by numbers, 15.0 is "fifteen hands", 15.2 is alternately "fifteen-two" or "fifteen hands, two inches," and so on.
To convert inches to hands, the number is 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 not 15.4, but rather is 16.0 hands high. The term "15.5 hands" is also incorrect, as it would read 15 hands and five inches high, when a hand is four inches. 15.5 does not mean a horse halfway between 15 and 16 hands.
Read more about this topic: Hand (unit)