I've been on and off eu_1 since the update and haven't seen a single arabian lancer.
See how speculative evidence means pure shit?
The fact is, the vast increase is unwarranted - it was not unbalanced. The fact that you need 2 more riding skill for the arabian than you do for a 65k plated charger makes absolutely no sense to the games mechanics. This means that any HA who builds for the arabian now has a +2 riding bonus when using a plated. That's a fucking retarded reality.
Well Kerrigan, Lorenzo, and a couple of other GK. Then there were 2 randomers who I saw an hour ago. Can't remember their names. And of the first map I played in the desert when there were still only 30 on the server, there were a few as well.
Most of the guys riding around on anything less seemed to be 1h cav or ranged cav.
The reason it makes sense is because it has been argued that riding a horse like an Arabian takes a lot more skill than riding a plated charger. Thus needing more riding. The price for the plated charger is the balancing factor. As to whether the devs actually based it on that random realism argument. I don't know. I'm just saying what the argument for it has been in the past.