This mounted yeoman wears the blue tunic introduced in 1884-5 for normal duties. During the 18 or so years of its existence this tunic underwent a change in the number and size of the front buttons. The early tunic had nine small buttons and the later tunic, seen here, had five larger buttons. There is also no sign of the white piping down the back seam of the sleeve, so this may have been discontinued. The smarter frogged waist-length jacket was reserved for dismounted reviews, church parades and walking out. Within a few years the tunic was to be changed to the pattern more similar to that worn by the 6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers) but the precise date of this change is unclear.
The Hampshire Carabiniers were so named after the type of rifle generally used by the British cavalry, the carbine. That was the name given to a shortened version of the rifles used by the infantry. This photo shows the rider's off side with a firearm carried in a leather bucket behind his right leg. Although it is difficult from the photo to say what this is, the short length indicates that this is certainly a carbine. The last issue to British cavalry was the Magazine Lee-Enfield (MLE) although the Yeomanry were not as up-to-date as the regulars so this may be the earlier Lee-Metford. The Boer War brought about the demise of the carbine as it proved inefficient against Boer riflemen, and had to be replaced by the longer-barrelled infantry rifle.
