Phantasia is a Waler, a descendant of the horses bred in Australia for the Indian army before WWI and the Australian army during WWI and up to WWII. She is fortunate for she is the mount of a caring and expert horseman who has fitted her bridle with a flyveil; which like her long thick mane is flying in the wind of her own making. She is moving freely and willingly, her eye is gentle but alert, and her ear turned back listening for the voice of her rider. 

In the Egyptian, Sinai and Palestinian deserts, the Australian Light horsemen often fitted flyveils to their horses headstalls in an effort to protect their eyes from the nuisance and irritation of the flies and other insects which afflicted them and caused discomfort and sometimes infection. It was partly for this reason also that the Australian Light Horse did not generally hog their horses manes or cut short their horses tails, as the British Cavalry did; for nature had fitted out these horses with long thick tails which were adept at flicking flies away, and their long manes protected their necks from the pests as well as from the blasting sands of the Khamsin wind of those desert regions.

Phantasia is wearing a military headstall with rope attached and looped and tied around her neck, and her military bridle is fitted with a heavy military Pelham bit. This bit when in full use has two reins attached, however the Light Horseman riding this gentle horse has no need of the more severe curb rein to control his horse and does not have one fitted, using only the snaffle rein with a simple direct action on the bit in the horse’s mouth. You can clearly see how a curb rein if buckled to either one of the slots in the bar below the bit itself, when  in use would by its lever action bear pressure on the curb chain under the jaw, and via the bridle, exert pressure on the horse’s head behind its ears, as well as on the horse’s mouth. In fact during the desert campaign, many Light Horsemen did not use the curb rein in their day-to-day activities and some even dispensed with the military bit altogether, using a simple snaffle bit instead.

Note the extra bandolier that this lovely Waler is carrying around her neck. Sometimes when the Light Horsemen were going into action and could possibly need more ammunition than the bandolier over their shoulder and pouches on their belt could carry, they carried an extra bandolier full of bullets around their horse’s neck.