Horse-Measuring Stick

Q: I purchased a cane 15 years ago. I figured out it opened up and extended to look like a measuring device of some sort. What is its purpose and value?

A: You have a horse-measuring stick. The height of a horse is measured by holding the stick next to the withers. Slide the top of the stick out until it is at the top of the horse’s shoulder. The top must be perfectly level and the bottom of the stick must be on the ground. The length of the stick is then measured with a tape measure. The size of the horse is always given in ‘hands.’ A ‘hand’ is four inches, so the number of inches on the stick is divided by four to get the measurement in hands. If the result is not an even number, the remainder is expressed in inches. So a horse that measures 62 inches at the withers is 15.2 hands. The number before the period is hands, the number after is inches.