After this time, cavalry in Western armies used swords or lances as their primary arm, although they still generally carried a pistol as a sidearm.

However, officers in the British Army and Royal Navy[4] continued to privately commission pistols from London gunsmiths such as Joseph Manton, Robert Wogdon, Henry Nock and Durs Egg until the mid 19th century.

Light cavalry of the early modern period were equipped with a sabre and specialised horse pistols, carried in saddle holsters.

[7] During the early Victorian era, most horse pistols in the arsenals of England, France, and the United States were converted to caplock ignition.

[10] Due to the high demand for arms during the wars against France, regulation .71 calibre horse pistols were also manufactured in Birmingham, and by private gunsmiths.

[13] British light cavalry such as the hussars fought as pistoliers during the Napoleonic Wars, being trained to draw and fire both pistols before closing in with the sabre.

[17] Indian or New Land Pattern pistols produced after 1802[18] had captive ramrods, raised waterproof frizzens for use in India's monsoons, and an attachment on the buttcap for a lanyard.

During the Indian Mutiny, caplock conversions of the India pattern pistol with rifled barrels were used by British forces[23] and mutinous sepoys alike.

[37] The Model 1808 pistol was full-stocked, with a brass barrel band, belt hook and the initials of Tsar Alexander I stamped on the buttplate.

New pistols were manufactured at Tula, Izhevsk, Sestroretsk, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Kiev[38] in 1818, 1824 and 1836, and most older weapons were converted to percussion from 1844 to 1848.

[40][41] Ukrainian Cossacks were equipped with their own distinctive horse pistol, featuring a miquelet lock imported from Spain or Italy, a stock carved from an elm root, a bulbous ivory or bone butt,[42] and niello silver decoration.

[49] Unlike regular cavalry, Cossacks carried their pistols on the left side of their belt[50] or around their neck rather than in a saddle holster so they would never be unarmed if attacked while away from their horses.