Napoleon on l'Intendent

At the turn of the 19th Century, horses were the only practical way of travelling long distances overland quickly and with reasonable comfort
Different types and breeds of horse were required for different purposes
Napoleon would have owned fast, spirited horses for hunting, trotting  horses for pulling carriages, strong, tireless horses for travel, elegant, high-gaited horses for parades, and, of course, horses trained for war.

Horses cannot be ridden until they are fully grown at around three to five years of age, and their average lifespan is only 20 - 25 years. Besides the vast numbers needed to mount troops and carry supplies, each campaign would have required several mounts for Napoleon's personal use. Horses were killed in battle, starved, froze, succumbed to injuries or disease, were poisoned by bad water or were simply killed and eaten by hungry soldiers. Highly-bred steeds were also exchanged by rulers as tokens of esteem or captured as prizes of war.

For his personal use, the Emperor favoured grey Arabians or Barbs, quick, agile Arab desert horses fiery enough to be impressive, but small enough that he could mount them unaided. This was not because of his size - contrary to rumours about his short stature, Napoleon was about 168 cm tall, a very acceptable average height for a Frenchman of the time. He simply wasn't a terribly good equestrian. His saddle horses were generally chosen for their reliability and sweet, gentle dispositions rather than their exteriors and put through extensive training before the Emperor would consent to ride them.

Napoleon never owned a horse as a child, and probably only had one year of formal equestrian training during his brief stay at the École Royale Militaire in Paris. He was never a very elegant rider by European standards, preferring the style he had acquired riding donkeys during his childhood in Corsica - slouching, back bent, heels drawn up and reins bunched in one hand, sliding back and forth so much that he wore holes in his breeches. According to Napoleon's personal valet, Constant, 'The Emperor mounted a horse without grace... and I believe that he would not have always been very sturdy on the horse if we had not taken so much care to give him only horses perfectly trained.' Nevertheless, he could easily cover 100 km in one day, rode for pleasure as well as travel, and was undaunted by his numerous falls and accidents.

Napoleon owned approx. 150 horses during the course of his life.
The names of several dozen mounts have been recorded by diligent record-keepers
Le Vizir, Marengo, Cyrus, Tauris, Roitelet, Styrie ....etc

Many of his horses are known to have been renamed - for example, Napoleon's tall, pure-white Norman parade horse, Intendant, was affectionately nicknamed 'Coco' by the Imperial Guard