History Main / HorseArcher

In TabletopGames and VideoGames, these are often GameBreaker units, but not always. For balance reasons, they are often less powerful than archers who go on foot[[note]]Justifiably; horse archers do often seem to have had to use shorter, less powerful bows than footmen, making good foot archers an effective counter to horse archery.[[/note]] or [[ZergRush are at least easily outnumbered by them]],[[note]]Justifiable at a glance, since it is certain far more people in history at any given time were capable of competently using a bow than competently using a bow while riding a horse at the same time (though predicting a battle's winner solely from the numbers of troops involved would be oversimplifying)[[/note]] and if AnnoyingArrows are in place already, this can lead to them being unable to effectively damage the enemy. Given that they often trade armor for speed, they can also easily be portrayed as {{Fragile Speedster}}s. If they can attack with swords as well, it's a case of BowAndSwordInAccord. Historically, many horse archers also carried a javelin or two for close-range work, making them {{Javelin Thrower}}s as well.

* Any bow-using centaur in ''Manga/ACentaursLife'' is this by default. The main character's family is descended from the warrior class, and Hime keeps up with the tradition of using bow and arrow. Apparently she can also ride horses, but this has been alluded to instead of shown.

* Merida from ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'' is an ace with a bow and arrow, and she can hit a perfect bullseye while on horseback. While ''jumping over a log'' on horseback, no less!

** ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing'':
*** At the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, several mounted Rohirrim - including Eomer - attempt to take down the mumakil of the Haradrim with arrows.

* ''Film/{{Wonder Woman|2017}}'': All the Amazon warriors of Themyscira train to be as good with bow and arrow on horseback as they are on the ground. The film features several BulletTime shots highlighting this.

* The Mongols in all books, naturally enough.
* In ''[[Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo 1635: The Eastern Front]]'', one Polish general is a noted horse archer. When asked why he persists in this in an age of gunpowder, the general points out that what it really does is keep him thinking quickly and observing the terrain.

* In ''Literature/BelisariusSeries'', the Persians prefer steppe style bows that have a great rate of fire. The Roman Cataphracts prefer giant bows that can penetrate armor, at the expense of rate of fire. Rajputs are also notable Horse Archers, but not as good as Persians.

* In ''Literature/FateStrangeFake'', True Rider/[[spoiler:Queen Hippolyta]] rides a horse and uses a bow and a spear.
* In ''Literature/{{Harald}}'', The Westkin tribes are the lightly armored sort, and the Vales have cataphracts who wear heavier armor.
* In the ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' series, the Skybolt mercenary company is primarily composed of horse archers trained in skirmish tactics. The rest of the company are [[CombatPragmatist dirty tricks specialists]].
** The Heralds themselves are expert equestrians and are trained in all weaponry, though their supposed focus on archery is [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness diminished after the original trilogy]]. Having a BondCreature who doesn't require direction as a mount makes aiming much easier, of course.
* In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' the Rohirrim field a number of these. However most of their army seems to be lancers.
* Aillas and Yane from Jack Vance's high fantasy epic the ''Literature/{{Lyonesse}} Trilogy'' (''Suldrun's Garden'', ''The Green Pearl'' and ''Madouc'').
* Implied to exist in the Zlobenian army in ''Literature/MonstrousRegiment'', since the Borogravians get hold of a powerful crossbow called a "horse-bow".

* Rackhir the Red in Creator/{{Michael Moorcock}}'s {{Multiverse}}.
* ''Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms''--while mounted archery is not used as a regular battlefield tactic, the top-level officers of Wei show off some pretty impressive instances of ImprobableAimingSkills, including one showoff who nails his shot ''backwards, while laying down on his horse''.
* The Dothraki and the Dornishmen from ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''.
* The Vardariotes from ''Literature/TheTraitorSonCycle'', being the local Mongol Horde {{exp|y}}ies, have the horse archers as their only ranged units.
* The various steppe tribes in Harry Turtledove's ''Literature/{{Videssos}}'' books. The Videssians themselves may also qualify, though they prefer more armor than the average horse archer.
* Yeoman in the shared-universe series ''Literature/{{Wild Cards}}'' -- unfortunately depicted as using a compound bow, despite the difficulties in transporting and assembling such in an urban environment.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Dothraki boys train in mounted archery from the age of four and their skill - seen most notably at the Battle of the Goldroad - is an impressive sight to see.

* In ''Pinball/{{Seawitch}},'' one of the witches fires a bow while riding on the back of a giant winged monster fish.

* The Mounted Archery and Improved Mounted Archery feats in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' 3rd Edition enable this, letting the user fire from horseback while their mount is on the move with reduced penalties or no penalties at all. Improved Mounted Archery also enables the user to attack at any point in their mount's move, enabling them to kite the opponent at range.
* Similarly, ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' treats horse archery as a "technique" of Bow skill; levels in the technique reduce the penalties for shooting from horseback.

* In ''TabletopGame/RocketAge'' The Chanari desert tribes of Mars frequently use bows on the backs of bahmoots, horse-sized, velociraptor-like reptiles. They're essentially alien Bedouin mixed with the Mongols.
* Horse archers appear frequently in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}''. They're pretty much always light skirmishers and harassing/flanking units, and they range from the quite normal all the way to goblins on wolves and dark elves with repeater crossbows mounted on lizards.
* The Rough Rider units in ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' are a more modernized take, using lasguns instead of bows, though they're more known for their devastating charges with explosive-tipped lances. The various Space Marine, Ork, and Eldar/Aldarin BadassBiker units are even more high-tech.

** A basic mounted unit in ''Civilization IV'' (though since units only have one type, they[[note]]as well as mounted riflemen[[/note]] count only as mounted units and ''not'' as archers when type advantages are resolved).
** Appears as unique Mongol unit in ''Civilization V'', while the Indians get Elephant Archers. The Huns in the first expansion also get a unique unit simply called the "Horse Archer," though players are not required to actually have access to horses in order to build them strangely enough.
** The Scythians in ''Civilization VI'' acquire Saka Horse Archers once you research Horseback Riding.
* A patch in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' allowed the player to become this, although it is a bit hard since you have to aim without a reticle.
* The Roving Clans of ''Videogame/EndlessLegend'' utilize ''only'' mounted, highly mobile units; even their [[BaseOnWheels cities are mobile]]. Their mounted archer, the Kassai, is the single fastest unit in the game, being able to outrun even Drakken [[OurDragonsAreDifferent wyverns]] on the Clan's native deserts.

** The Bow Knight from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden'', the third-tier promotion for the Archer line, which can only use bows. In the remake ''Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia'', the Overclass DLC offers them a promotion to Oliphantier class, whose default weapon is a giant bow-like ''cannon'', with laser sights to boot.
** The Arch Knight and Bow Knight in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776'', who are similar to the Horseman from the original Archanea games in that they can only use Bows, but are able to promote. There is also the Master Knight, a horseback unit that can use almost every weapon, including bows.
** The Nomad in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'', with its promotion the Nomadic Trooper also able to use swords. They're all implied to be Sacaens, a FantasyCounterpartCulture of various Eurasian steppe tribes, making them quite distinct from the knightly and European-esque Cavaliers (and unlike Cavaliers, their steeds have little trouble [[GeoEffects crossing difficult terrain]]).
** The Ranger in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones''. A promotion from Mercenaries and Archers, they use both bows and swords.
** The Bow Knight and Paladin in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance''. Notably, upon promotion from Bow Knight, the Paladin can choose from swords, lances or axes to wield, while other mounted units can choose to take bows as a secondary weapon. This was changed in the sequel ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn''; the Bow Knight and Bow Paladin can only use bows until promotion to the tertiary class Silver Knight, where they gain the use of lances. The Lance Paladin also gains bows as a backup upon promotion to Silver Knight.
** The Bow Knight in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening''. Despite sharing the same name as the ''Path of Radiance''/''Radiant Dawn'' unit, they function the same as Rangers from ''The Sacred Stones'', being a promotion for both Mercenaries and Archers that uses both bows and swords. This class makes a return in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', where it's a promotion for both Mercenaries and Outlaws.[[note]]The bow-wielding variant of Thief.[[/note]] The Bow Knight also happens to be the promotion of choice for Selena when she shows up as an enemy late in the ''Birthright'' route.
** The Kinshi[[note]]A bird large enough to carry a human[[/note]] Knight in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' is an extreme example, being a Kinshi-riding class that learns to use bows in addition to lances.
** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', the Bow Knight is a Master Class that uses both bows and lances. To be promoted to one, a character needs to be at least level 30, have a Rank C in Lance skill, and have a Rank A in both Bow and Riding skills. Additionally, [[spoiler:Claude has a unique promotion called the Wyvern Master (which can be further promoted into the Barbarossa), an archer that happens to ride a giant dragon]]. Thanks to the new mechanic of weapons not being class restricted but instead tied to a character's weapon ranks, any mounted unit can carry a bow and become this, but they lack the to-hit and especially extra range bonuses afforded by the Bow Knight class.
* The centaurs in ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic I'', ''II'', and ''V'' were archers (the centaurs in ''III'' were spearmen, while the ones in ''IV'' were spear''throwers'').

* ''VideoGame/ShiningForce'' and ''[[VideoGame/ShiningForceII II]]'' have Lyle and May, ''centaur'' archers who are one of the best ranged characters in their respective games.

** ''VideoGame/TotalWarWarhammer'': Several cavalry-heavy and/or skirmish-focused factions make use of horse archers, which provide them with ranged units capable of keeping up with other cavalry contingents and of independently pestering enemy forces while being fast enough to retreat at need without needing to commit other units to protecting them. These include Bretonnian yeoman archers, Wood Elf glade riders, High Elf Ellyrian reavers and Dark Elf dark riders (who use crossbows). The Wood Elves have a unique variant in the form of hawk riders, which ride giant haws and add flight to the other advantages of horse archery.
* ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'': The Night Elves can promote their normal archers to Hippogryph riders, making them both mounted and flying.

* One of the stages in ''VideoGame/TheWindRoad'', where hordes of bandit archers on horseback pursues you while you're seated behind a horde-drawn chariot in a furious chase across the Gobi Desert. The bandit archers will try shooting at you, and you shoot them back using your bow and the massive supply of arrows on the chariot.

[[folder:Web Original]]
* Featured prominently in the ''Tales of Ubernorden'' story [[http://www.ubernorden.com/the-sword-of-war.html The Sword of War]].
[[/folder]]

In TabletopGames and VideoGames, these are often GameBreaker units, but not always. For balance reasons, they are often less powerful than archers who go on foot[[note]]Justifiably; horse archers do often seem to have had to use shorter, less powerful bows than footmen, making good foot archers an effective counter to horse archery.[[/note]] or [[ZergRush are at least easily outnumbered by them]][[note]]Justifiable at a glance, since it is certain far more people in history at any given time were capable of competently using a bow than competently using a bow while riding a horse at the same time (though predicting a battle's winner solely from the numbers of troops involved would be oversimplifying)[[/note]], and if AnnoyingArrows are in place already, this can lead to them being unable to effectively damage the enemy. Given that they often trade armor for speed, they can also easily be portrayed as {{Fragile Speedster}}s. If they can attack with swords as well, it's a case of BowAndSwordInAccord. Historically, many horse archers also carried a javelin or two for close-range work, making them {{Javelin Thrower}}s as well.

* ''Literature/{{Deryni}}'': The Haldane Household Archers function this way in battle, as seen in ''The King's Justice''. In that same book, Kelson himself is one [[spoiler: when he executes Sicard by shooting an arrow through his eye]].

** The Bow Knight in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening''. Despite sharing the same name as the ''Path of Radiance''/''Radiant Dawn'' unit, they function the same as Rangers from ''The Sacred Stones'', being a promotion for both Mercenaries and Archers that uses both bows and swords. This class makes a return in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', where it's a promotion for both Mercenaries and Outlaws[[note]]The bow-wielding variant of Thief[[/note]]. The Bow Knight also happens to be the promotion of choice for Selena when she shows up as an enemy late in the ''Birthright'' route.
** The Kinshi Knight in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' is an extreme example, being a Kinshi[[note]]A bird large enough to carry a human[[/note]]-riding class that learns to use bows in addition to lances.

There are basically two categories of this trope. The first category are the light horse archers, who act as skirmishers and rely on agility and speed. They often specialize in HitAndRunTactics, especially with archers who can spur their horse, turn around and shoot ''backwards'' as their enemies pursue.[[note]]This tactic in particular is often called the "Parthian shot," named after one of Ancient Rome's rivals who specialized in exactly this. The Parthians were often fought, but never conquered (at least not by the Romans themselves).[[/note]] Naturally, since it requires expert horsemanship, it is a specialty of any BornInTheSaddle culture. An honorable mention goes to earlier civilizations (Persians, Egyptians, etc.) that used chariots as a shooting platform, but in those cases it was a team of both horses and men.

* ''Literature/TheMummyMonsterGame'': In book 1, during the challenge for the second arm of Osiris, the pharaoh Rameses uses a bow and arrow as his first weapon to try and ensure his victory. Josh avoids them neatly.

TruthInTelevision for numerous civilizations, of course, with many historical armies being made up partly or primarily of horse archers. Prior to the invention of the stirrup, lance warfare demanded a great deal more skill as it required both hands holding the weapon. The Huns and Mongols are the best-known of these, and have spawned any number of [[FantasyCounterpartCulture clones]] in fantasy literature, but almost every civilization that had horses has used these at some point, often to [[GameBreaker devastating effectiveness]], and the {{Samurai}} used the dai-kyu (a type of recurved longbow) from horseback up until the Meiji Restoration.

In TabletopGames and VideoGames, these are often GameBreaker units, but not always. For balance reasons, they are often less powerful than archers who go on foot[[note]]Justifiably; horse archers do often seem to have had to use shorter, less powerful bows than footmen, making good foot archers an effective counter to horse archery.[[/note]] or [[ZergRush are at least easily outnumbered by them]][[note]]Justifiable at a glance, since it is certain far more people in history at any given time were capable of competently using a bow than competently using a bow while riding a horse at the same time (though predicting a battle's winner solely from the numbers of troops involved would be oversimplifying)[[/note]], and if AnnoyingArrows are in place already, this can lead to them being unable to effectively damage the enemy. Given that they often trade armor for speed, they can also easily be portrayed as {{Fragile Speedster}}s. If they can attack with swords as well, it's a case of BowAndSwordInAccord.

* ''LightNovel/AscendanceOfABookworm'': Ferdinand, when he needs to fill in as a MagicKnight. While his mount being a magical moving lion statue over which he has complete control helps, the fact that the thing can ''fly'' and Ferdinand can pull a magical {{Multishot}} from its back allows the feat to remain quite impressive.

* Rackhir the Red in Creator/{{Michael Moorcock}}'s {{Multiverse}}

** Even before the Mongols, horse nomads were a constant threat. The later Jin dynasty (better known as the Qing) was formed by a takeover by semi-nomadic horse archers. The earlier Xiongnu were able to extract tribute from the Chinese emperors and force the construction of fortifications, including the great wall.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'': In the prelude to the final battle, Zelda shoots at Ganondorf with Light Arrows to paralyze him while on horseback with Link.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'', bow-wielding Skeletons have a chance to spawn mounted atop a Spider, or spawn four at once on horseback from horses that sometimes spawn from lightning strikes. Their high mobility while mounted can make them a hassle for the player to fight, and can shoot down the player easily if they flee. The player can also pull this off, as it's possible to fire a bow while on horseback while maintaining control over your horse.

* ''Film/KingArthur'': Tristan’s primary combat technique is horse archery, keeping with his Sarmatian roots (Sarmatians were steppe nomads from the eastern borders of the Roman Empire and master equestrians).

The second category are the heavy horse archers, who ride to the battle on close formations and shoot on volleys, intending to cause actual casualties instead of just harassing the enemy. They often support lancers and protect their flanks. The examples of the heavy horse archers are the Byzantine ''koursores'' and ''defensores'', the Chinese cavalry, the Japanese samurai and the Ottoman Turkish sipahi. They are often willing and eager to engage in the hand-to-hand fighting as well. Even after firearms were introduced, they were somewhat difficult to use effectively from horseback, as a muzzle-loaded weapon requires stability, dexterity, and two hands to reload. The Renaissance pistoliers rather favoured to get close, fire both pistols, and then charge with sword. This meant that bow-wielding horsemen held on to an advantage as skirmishers, up until the invention of the revolver and breech-loaded long arms.

** Link can do use his bow while riding Epona in some games.

%%** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'': The prelude to the final battle shows Zelda herself is capable of this feat.%%How?

** Even before the Mongols, horse nomads were a constant threat. The later Jin dynasty was formed by a takeover by semi-nomadic horse archers. The earlier Xiongnu were able to extract tribute from the Chinese emperors and force the construction of fortifications, including the great wall.
** Parthian horse archers were devastating against the Romans at Carrhae (53 BCE) -- particularly impressive in that they did so without stirrups. (Incidentally, it's often claimed that the phrase "parting shot" is a corruption of "Parthian shot". In truth it's a coincidence and the two were coined separately.) They in turn learned it from the Scythians, who successfully prevented the armies of both Darius and Alexander the Great from expanding their empires into the Northern Ukraine and Russia through evasion and harassing.
*** The Romans initially considered horse archers as an interesting but ultimately useless trick, as their ''testudo'' formation offered an excellent protection from arrows and even bows with enough power to pierce their shields had a limited supply of arrows. Then at Carrhae, the Parthians showed up with an immense reserve of arrows that allowed them to literally shoot all day, and the rest is history (the Romans were forced to advance, got surrounded, and [[CurbStompBattle most of the Romans were utterly crushed]] by the end of it all, not helped by the following PeaceConference igniting to violence and leaving the Romans' surviving forces desperately trying to flee).

Likely to be used by HordesFromTheEast. Especially if they are BornInTheSaddle. Does not refer to a horse who ''is'' an archer, though [[OurCentaursAreDifferent centaurs]] there's heavy overlap.

* In the ''Series/PowerRangersSamurai'' TV movie "Clash of the Red Rangers", Blue Ranger Kevin uses his Hydro Bow while on horseback.

* All the Amazon warriors of Themyscira in ''Film/{{Wonder Woman|2017}}'' train to be as good with bow and arrow on horseback as they are on the ground. The film features several BulletTime shots highlighting this.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mongol_archers.png]]

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[[quoteright:219:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Horse_rider_9460.jpg]]

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'': In addition to Link being able to use bows on horseback (focusing on an enemy is recommended by the game, as it locks the viewpoint onto an enemy and makes it easier to aim), several areas contain groups of Bokoblins that spawn riding horses. While a few carry spears, the majority wield bows; on spotting Link, they attempt to encircle him while pelting him with arrows, using their constant movement to make themselves harder targets and keeping themselves at range to keep Link from using melee weapons.

* ''Manga/ABridesStory''. Set in 19th-century Uzbekistan, several of the main characters (especially those from the Halgal tribe of horse nomads) are skilled horse archers. Amir and her brother Azel are the two most notable examples, and Karluk later spends time with his in-laws in order to learn for himself. Set as it is during an EndOfAnAge due to UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia making its in-roads into the region, many of the locals are abandoning traditional horse archery in favour of modern guns and cannon, who are considerably more useful in war.

** ''VideoGame/TotalWarWarhammer'': Several cavalry-heavy and/or skirmish-focused factions make use of horse archers, which provide them with ranged units capable of keeping up with other cavalry contingents and of indecently pestering enemy forces while being fast enough to retreat at need without needing to commit other units to protecting them. These include Bretonnian yeoman archers, Wood Elf glade riders, High Elf Ellyrian reavers and Dark Elf dark riders (who use crossbows). The Wood Elves have a unique variant in the form of hawk riders, which ride giant haws and add flight to the other advantages of horse archery.

* Link can do this while riding Epona in some games in the ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' series. The prelude to the final battle of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' shows Zelda herself is also capable of this feat.
** Also [[InformedAbility apparently]] a specialty skill of the Gerudo.

** If you choose to start in the Khergit Khanate and you don't put any points into riding or horse archery and only use infantry in your battles... Well even the small packs of roaming steppe bandits that provide low level characters exp will stomp all over you. In fact the steppes is probably the hardest starting region because of the prevalence of horse archers.

* Wander in ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'' can do this while riding Agro. The fact that he is able to maintain stable aim while galloping, combined with his extremely awkward handling of the sword (which he admittedly stole), clues us in to who Wander was in his past life before coming to the Forbidden Land: not a warrior, but a ''hunter''. This also feeds into the overall themes of the game, which shows the Colossi more as instinct-driven beasts than as strategic opponents, so the Wander not so much battles them, as ''hunts them down'' for their souls.

* The Horseman and Mamluke in ''VideoGame/TearRingSaga''. The Mamluke can use swords upon promotion. Also, there is the Arrow Knight class, the promotion from the already Bow + Sword-using Lady Knight, that gains a horse upon promotion and the King's Knight class that uses swords, lances, axes and bows. ''VideoGame/Berwick Saga'' uses the horseman class instead.
* The ''VideoGame/TotalWar'' series has them as a staple unit for most cavalry centered factions particularly in...

** In ''VideoGame/TotalWarAttila'', the Huns specialize in these, and the Sassanids and Alans also get their share. Eastern Rome also gets the Equites Sagitarii, though these are a poor cousin to the horsebowmen used by their enemies. Horse archers on the greater end of the spectrum of horse archers quality are devastating in open field battles with multiple units of them - their speed will allow them to outmaneuver enemy infantry and isolate the cavalry the enemy does have, this combined with [[BowAndSwordInAccord their effectiveness in melee]] can easily counteract foot archers' ability to outnumber and outlast them at range and after those parts of the enemy's forces are are dealt with, their arrows will whittle down enemy infantry to be picked off for no other losses to their own side...[[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown and then their speed will probably mean no other enemies will escape the battlefield!]]
* The Night Elves in ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} III'' can promote their normal archers to Hippogryph riders, making them both mounted and flying.
** The HeroUnit Priestess of the Moon is this with a tiger as the mount.

Likely to be used by HordesFromTheEast. Especially if they are BornInTheSaddle.