M_W
So he uses a dagger but hunts on horseback. I assume he has a bow or maybe he did when the hunting scene happened in the beginning of the story and I forgot. Regardless I dont think its practical to use even a regular length sword on a moving horse, let alone a dagger. A polearm of any kind would be better suited for horseback combat or a bow if you have really good aim or a crossbow. Unless he can throw that dagger really well on a moving horse at a moving target. However, it does make sense why he has the dagger since he does not have the money or resources to make anything bigger for himself. Or maybe none of his blacksmiths have that expertise(making bigger weapons) because again his soldiers cant have longer reach weapons uniformly.