I don't know if this will be possible in the game engine, but I really think Horse Archers (well Archers in general, but it's more important for Horse Archers) should be able to shoot from either side of the horse, switching their bow from one hand to the other in order to do so.
Some historical evidence of Horse Archers doing this:
Laszlo Botos' statements in "The Homeland Reclaimed" from the Journal of Hungarian Studies states;
"The Greeks called the Scythians "horse archers" because they were so skillful with their small composite bow. These horse-archers were ambidextrous and extremely accurate and their arrows traveled a great distance (over 500 meters). A practiced archer could shoot around twenty arrows a minute."
Renate Rolle who wrote "The World of the Scythians" wherein he says;
"Their proficiency in archery, -- they were ambidextrous in the handling of the bow -- and their way of living and fighting on horseback earned the Scythians the Greek term 'horse-archers'. They seem to have achieved a remarkable degree of accuracy, as is confirmed by a series of burial finds."
'Wu Bei Yao Lue' (Principle Outlines of Military Preparedness) by Cheng Ziyi ( 1638 ) which states in the "Instructions for Horseback Archery" section:
"In today's parade-grounds, just 'shooting over the stirrup' is regarded as sufficient. But on the battlefield, you may get a sudden enemy charge from the right side. In that case it goes without saying that you need to shoot ambidextrously."
Taybugha Al-Ashrafi Al-Baklamishi Al-Yunani's archery manual Anglicized as "Saracen Archery" written in 1368 describes ten types of shots:
1. To left flank, forward and downward parallel with thigh.
2. To left flank, forward and upward.
3. In horizontal plane (target roughly level with left shoulder).
4. Ahead with bow, upper limb to right, canted above horse's neck.
5. To right flank, forward and downward.
6. To left flank rear, upward or downward, with bow canted over horse's croup.
7. To left flank rear, upward or downward, with bow vertical.
8. Jarmaki (shooting with drawing hand behind head at nape of neck) of two kinds, to the left and right.
9. Beneath the horse's neck from right to left.
10. Beneath the horse's neck from left to right.
Additionally it is possible to do so with high draw weight bows, as Justin Ma (English translator of Gao Ying's 'Shi Dao' (Way of Archery) military manual) demonstrates here:
Some historical evidence of Horse Archers doing this:
Laszlo Botos' statements in "The Homeland Reclaimed" from the Journal of Hungarian Studies states;
"The Greeks called the Scythians "horse archers" because they were so skillful with their small composite bow. These horse-archers were ambidextrous and extremely accurate and their arrows traveled a great distance (over 500 meters). A practiced archer could shoot around twenty arrows a minute."
Renate Rolle who wrote "The World of the Scythians" wherein he says;
"Their proficiency in archery, -- they were ambidextrous in the handling of the bow -- and their way of living and fighting on horseback earned the Scythians the Greek term 'horse-archers'. They seem to have achieved a remarkable degree of accuracy, as is confirmed by a series of burial finds."
'Wu Bei Yao Lue' (Principle Outlines of Military Preparedness) by Cheng Ziyi ( 1638 ) which states in the "Instructions for Horseback Archery" section:
"In today's parade-grounds, just 'shooting over the stirrup' is regarded as sufficient. But on the battlefield, you may get a sudden enemy charge from the right side. In that case it goes without saying that you need to shoot ambidextrously."
Taybugha Al-Ashrafi Al-Baklamishi Al-Yunani's archery manual Anglicized as "Saracen Archery" written in 1368 describes ten types of shots:
1. To left flank, forward and downward parallel with thigh.
2. To left flank, forward and upward.
3. In horizontal plane (target roughly level with left shoulder).
4. Ahead with bow, upper limb to right, canted above horse's neck.
5. To right flank, forward and downward.
6. To left flank rear, upward or downward, with bow canted over horse's croup.
7. To left flank rear, upward or downward, with bow vertical.
8. Jarmaki (shooting with drawing hand behind head at nape of neck) of two kinds, to the left and right.
9. Beneath the horse's neck from right to left.
10. Beneath the horse's neck from left to right.
Additionally it is possible to do so with high draw weight bows, as Justin Ma (English translator of Gao Ying's 'Shi Dao' (Way of Archery) military manual) demonstrates here:
