Horses are fine
Im a Cav/polearm guy depending on the map im either on foot with a bec or the like or on my courser
The gear i use on horseback is the following :
Kettle Helmet
Heraldic mail with tabard
Mail chausses
Mail Mittens
Courser
Balanced Heavy Lance
Knightly Heater Shield
War spear (for some reason a load of people see you downed and think HEAVY LANCE HE CANT SWING! so completly lose the ability to side block ^^)
when on foot i use the same armour but just a bec or long hafted blade
I find that with a decent map rotation allowing for quite a lot of cav time as well as on foot my cash fluctuates around 20k give or take a few k If i get really unlucky my courser breaks a few rounds in a row and im stuck on x1 but to be honest that doesnt happen to often