Master of the Horse

The most famous Master of the Horse is Mark Antony, who served during Julius Caesar's first dictatorship, with disastrous results.

The Master of the Horse in the United Kingdom was once an important official of the sovereign's household, though the role is largely ceremonial today.

The master of the horse is the third dignitary of the court, and was always a member of the ministry (before 1782 the office was of cabinet rank), a peer and a privy councillor.

All matters connected with the horses and formerly also the hounds of the sovereign, as well as the stables and coachhouses, the stud, mews and previously the kennels, are within his jurisdiction.

The practical management of the Royal Stables and stud devolves on the chief or Crown Equerry, formerly called the Gentleman of the Horse, whose appointment was always permanent.

The Clerk Marshal had the supervision of the accounts of the department before they are submitted to the Board of Green Cloth, and was in waiting on the Sovereign on state occasions only.

[1] Today the Master of the Horse has a primarily ceremonial office, and rarely appears except on state occasions, and especially when the Sovereign is mounted.

The Crown Equerry has daily oversight of the Royal Mews, which provides vehicular transport for the Sovereign, both cars and horse-drawn carriages.

As well as the superintendence of the royal stables, he had that of the retinue of the sovereign, also the charge of the funds set aside for the religious functions of the court, coronations, etc.

Distinct from this officer and independent of him, was the first equerry (Premier Ecuyer), who had charge of the horses which the sovereign used personally (La petite écurie), and who attended on him when he rode out.

In the Habsburg monarchy, the Oberststallmeister, together with the Obersthofmeister, Oberstkämmerer and Oberstmarschall, was one of the four principal functions on the Court, reserved to the high nobility.

In the Holy Roman Empire, his office was merely titular, the superintendence of the Emperor's stables having been carried out by the Oberstallmeister, an official corresponding to the crown equerry in England.

When the King sorted out from the Royal Palace, the Caballerizo had the main position behind him and the major rang over the other Court Officials.

By the end of the 15th century a special Equerry Office (конюшенный приказ, "konyushenny prikaz") was introduced, headed by the Konyushy.

It was in charge of the Tsar's stables, parade equipage, ceremonies of court ride-offs, and military horse breeding.

The Equerry Office handled a significant amount of Tsar's treasures, related to harness and horse/horseman armor, which were transferred to the Kremlin Armoury in 1736.

"Koniuszy" (corresponding to the English-language "Equerry" or "Master of the Horse") was a position of nobility known in the Kingdom of Poland from the 11th century, and in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from the 15th.

The Han Dynasty awarded "Grand Sima" as an additional title to high generals, in which context it is often translated into English as "Marshal".

However, in later dynasties it was used as the name of various relatively minor positions in the military and local administration, and was also used informally to refer to the Minister of War.