you can hit people while their on the ground slightly more easy, eastern war horse is quite shorter then say the padded horse.
Making it a smaller target, you can compare it with the desert horse/arab war horse. but its not the same.
Stat wise and handling its more a anti inf horse then a anti cav horse.
Leg are not to exposed as say the charger, its good actually.
there, a few points that come to mind.