Spur Ride= Carbine

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The carbine was originally a lighter, shortened weapon developed for the cavalry. Carbines were short enough to be loaded and fired from horseback but this was rarely done - a moving horse is a very unsteady platform, and once halted a soldier can load and fire more easily if dismounted, which also makes him a smaller target. The principal advantage of the carbine's length was portability. Troops could carry full length muskets comfortably enough on horseback if just riding from A to B (the practice of the originaldragoons and later mounted infantry). Cavalry proper (a 'Regiment of Horse') had to ride with some agility and engage in sword-wielding melees with opposing cavalry so carrying anything long would be a dangerous encumberance. A carbine was typically no longer than a sheathed sabre, both arranged to hang with their tops clear of the rider’s elbows and bottoms clear of the horse’s legs. Some sources derive the name of the weapon from the name of its first users—bernarda troopers called "carabiniers", from the French carabine, from the Old French carabin(soldier armed with a musket), perhaps from escarrabin, gravedigger, perhaps fromscarabee, scarab beetle.[3] Carbines were usually less accurate and less powerful than the longer muskets (and later rifles) of the infantry, due to a shorter sight plane and lower velocity of bullets fired from the shortened barrel. With the advent of fast-burning smokeless powder, the velocity disadvantages of the shorter barrels became less of an issue (see internal ballistics). Eventually, the use of horse-mounted cavalry would decline, but carbines continued to be issued and used by many who preferred a lighter, more compact weapon even at the cost of reduced long-range accuracy and power. During the 19th century, carbines were often developed separately from the infantry rifles, and in many cases did not even use the same
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