Sixteen hands

Big Tobey

There is something about the outside of the horse 

that is good for the inside of the man.

Winston Churchill

Tobey is part Quarter-horse and part Thoroughbred. I think he has a sweet, thoughtful face and what we call nice "ground manners." That means he stands still while you groom him, doesn't push into your space, pull you along or (heaven forbid) kick or bite.

In the movies horses are always rearing up and whinnying, which is shockingly bad behavior. So bad that I've rarely seen it happen at any barn.  In reality, horse barns are usually quiet except for the sound of an occasional snort and endless chewing.  There's nothing horses like more than eating. Barns should feel peaceful.

Tobey has an odd quirk for a Western Washington horse: he doesn't like the sound of rain on the metal roof of the arena.  The noise makes him nervous if you are trying to work with him inside.  Although I noticed he has no trouble standing quietly in the barn eating while rain is falling noisily on the roof.  Hummm...until we get to know each other better I won't argue.  I'll be a fair weather rider.

At 16 hands, Tobey is also the biggest horse I've ever ridden. A "hand" is 4 inches, so Tobey is  5'4" tall at the shoulder. That's big.

The legend goes that ancient horse traders needed a method of measuring horses and stacking one man's fist upon another was the simplest system. This is how horses came to be measured by "hand."