The regiment has its origins in fänikor raised in Skaraborg County in the 16th century. The oldest preserved documents dealing with fänikor and foot soldiers in Skaraborg County are from 1543. Of the fänikor from Västergötland and Dalsland, in 1613 a grand regiment of 3,000 men was formed. Sometime between 1621 and 1624, the grand regiment was permanently split into three smaller field regiments which formed the basis for Skaraborg Regiment, Älvsborg Regiment and Halland Regiment. Skaraborg Regiment got Bengt Pilefeldt as its first commander. The regiment was mentioned in the Instrument of Government of 1634 as Det Andre Wästgöthe Regemente, där under hörer Scharaborgz Lähn ("The second Västgöta regiment, which includes Skaraborg County"). The regiment was allotted in 1684. It was roterat (an old feudal method of recruiting) with 1,200 numbers (soldiers) in Skaraborg County. From 1696 to 1913 the regiment trained on Axevalla heath. In 1913, it moved to new barracks in Skövde. The regiment received an armored battalion in 1939 and was reorganized in 1942 into an armored regiment, giving it the name Skaraborg Armoured Regiment (P 4).
