I have only recently become a warrior of the pony... yet I share your pain! Alas that, ontop of the depravities you have listed, our steeds have been subjected to nerfs. No longer may we ride upon the backs of jet-propelled horses covered head-to-toe in titanium plating.
And yea everyone has pikes now. Even I use it, and I'm a cavalry dude. An evil weapon, I dare say.