[Three men and a horse]

Depicts an officer, most likely a Colonel of the 17th Field Company Australian Engineers. Behind him is his piebald horse, who is mangy and half-starved. The benighted horse is having his tail docked by another soldier. In the foreground the Colonel is possibly receiving money for his piebald horse from a trench soldier. However, this seems unlikely, as the horse appears later in the series after its tail has been docked. The Colonel's spruce uniform and appearance is in stark contrast to the trench officer he is talking to. Where the officer is wearing his full riding kit (complete with jodhpurs, his slouch hat with a AIF rising sun badge, and a riding crop) the old soldier is unkempt and has the large nose of an alcoholic. .

This officer is a recurring character in the series. Bespectacled and bearing a look of smooth arrogance on his face, it is possible he is the artist's direct commanding officer. The 17th FC, which was the company the artist was in, was composed of men from other units of engineers and had the nickname "The Fragments of France".