Backslashing with a 2h or 1h weapon on cav has such a great speed and range, it usually always distracts me.
Even after killing the horse, the rider doesn't even get fall damage. What's with the roll now, it's like you don't get any penalty, and have 2 lives... You just have to be "slightly" rich, and you're bound to be stronger than all others.
It's just the natural evolution. Everyone should be on a horse. It's not even about the "price", and cost/effectiveness ratio, since all demands of stronger bows/2h/polearms unusable on horseback and as expensive as a Plated Charger have been refused cause of obvious OPness. Yet, horses stay.
I'd also like to add the ridiculous boost a +3 horse has compared to it's +0 counterpart. Heirlooming your horse really feels like the smartest thing to do.
Having a +3 War Horse gives you :
Price : 33 248 gold
Speed : 43
Armor : 44
HP : 135
Maneuver : 43
Charge : 38
Difficulty : 5
So much better than an Eastern Horse :
Price : 23 981 gold
Speed : 44
Armor : 6
Speed : 44
HP : 80
Maneuver : 44
Charge : 11
Difficulty : 8
Always felt strange. There's just no real reason to go for an unarmored horse if you're going 1h/cav...