The unit started to be raised in 1966 and was disbanded in 1975 due to the events of the Carnation Revolution in Lisbon, the end of the Portuguese Colonial War and the independence of Angola.

In military history, it was probably one of the last units of real dragoons to be used in combat operations, excluding the Rhodesian Grey's Scouts.

Particularly in Angola, squadrons of dragoons fought in the pacification campaigns of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as in the World War I.

In 1966, the Portuguese Army created an experimental horse platoon, to operate against the guerrillas in the high grass region of the Eastern Angola.

Each soldier of this unit was armed with a G3 battle rifle to use in combat on foot, and with a Walther P38 semi-automatic pistol to use while on horseback.