I would propose an idea to help infantry troops (both melee and archer) deal with both horse archers and calvary in general. The effectiveness of spears and pikes against calvary is something that has already been discussed elsewhere on the forum, so I won't delve into that specifically, but suffice it to say that not only am I wholeheartedly for these ideas, I think they should be taken a step further. Wooden spikes, pounded into the ground, were an anti-calvary weapon used all around the world at multiple times throughout history to stop calvary charges from destroying infantry. While they would indeed deal massive, almost universally fatal damage to a charging horse, their real use was stopping horses from charging into them in the first place.
A horse is not stupid. It is fully aware that if it runs full speed into a wall of spikes, it will die. As a result, a horse would, upon realizing the danger ahead, do it's best to come to a complete stop instantly. You can imagine the affect this had on the horses rider. This effect applies to spears and lances as well. That said, I think the ability for infantry troops to be able to deploy stakes to prevent horse charges would not only massively balance infantry v calvary in general, but would also be an incredibly interesting improvement to battle strategy as a whole.
