Yes, that’s right. This post is about how you can weigh your horse model. The regular way to weigh a horse model is with a weight scale, or whatever you call those things people weigh themselves on. But I do not do that. I do not weigh the model to see how much it weighs. I weigh my model horses to see how heavy they would be if they were real. I do that using math and a measuring tape, one of those kinds that aren’t made of wood. Here is how I do it:
Materials Needed:
Model horse (the bigger, the better)
Brain + pencil and paper, or Calculator
Measuring tape, or string and ruler
These instructions
What 2 Do:
1. Using the measuring tape*, measure around the horse’s heartgirth in inches (measure from the horse’s withers under the belly and back to the withers. The withers are at the bottom of the mane normally, but you never know what to expect when it comes to model horses). Using inches will simplify later division, and give you your horse’s weight in pounds. Round off to the nearest inch, or half inch if you really want some fun math. If you are using your head, you will want to write your horse’s heartgirth down. If you are using your calculator, punch that number in. Square the heartgirth (heartgirth to the second power, heartgirth²), which means multiply the heartgirth by the heartgirth.
2. Now, measure your model horse from the point of its shoulder to its backside. That is the body length. Multiply the body length by heartgirth².
3. Divide your product (answer to multiplication problem) by 330. The quotient, or answer to the division problem, is your model horse’s weight if it was a real, live horse. Congratulations! You have survived all that math!
The formula you used looks like this, all written out in a line:
(heartgirth²) × body length ÷ 330 = weight
You can find out a horse’s heartgirth when you know the body length and the weight by reversing the formula.
Materials Needed:
Same model horse you used before
Brain + paper and pencil or a calculator
Perseverance
These instructions
What 2 Do:
1. Divide your horse’s weight by 330.
2. Divide your quotient by your horse’s body length.
3. Find the square root of that quotient. The square root is ‘what times the first what equals what’. For example, the square root of 25 is 5, because five times five equals 25.
4. Round off your quotient, and you have your horse’s heartgirth!
Okay, you’ve survived that math. Now try to figure out my horse’s heartgirth. My horse weighs about 19 pounds. Its body length is 19 inches. Do the math! How many inches is my horse’s heartgirth? Round off your answer, and check below to see if you have it right.
Surprise! More math! My horse’s heartgirth is the answer to this math problem:
9+9-9+9
*If you have only a string and a ruler, do this:
Take the end of your string and wrap your string around your horse’s body. Hold onto the place where the end of your string touches the middle of the string. Hold the string next to your ruler. Measure from the end of your string to where your fingers are. That is the heartgirth. Using the string, measure the body length, too.
