How many hands is a horse that measures 71 inches tall?

To determine the height of a horse in hands, we start with the fact that one hand is equal to 4 inches. To convert the horse's height from inches to hands, you divide the total inches by 4.

In this case, a horse that measures 71 inches tall would be calculated as follows:

71 inches ÷ 4 inches per hand = 17.75 hands

When measuring horse heights, it's common to express the decimal part in terms of hands and inches. The whole number represents the number of complete hands, and the decimal portion indicates additional inches.

The .75 indicates that there are three-quarters of a hand beyond the 17th hand. Therefore, we convert .75 hands to inches by multiplying it by 4 (since each hand equals 4 inches):

0.75 x 4 = 3 inches

Putting it all together, a horse that is 71 inches tall is equivalent to 17 hands and 3 inches, which can also be expressed as 17.3 hands. This makes 17.3 hands the correct choice when representing the horse's height in this format.