[OG_Gleep]

The number of calvary units isn't huge, when you take out things like spider riders and such. My main concern however is for commander class units, as giving up an item slot doesn't make much sense. There are plenty of other commander units with equal mobility and they still retain their slot.

The dismounting of calvary, is just a work around. I would really like to see it as a general option for all mounted units, as calvary often did dismount to fight. But you are right that at this point its not likely to happen.

What you suggested is another solution however, adding horse/mount specific slot and duplicating the key footwear thematically. Bridles of Earth (+1E), or Barding of the Mountains (Essentially boots of stone). Theres lots of options here, wouldn't take a whole lot of work, and be easy to implement. The footwear options are really limited in the first place, and there are only 2 that I can think of that warrented the elimination of the foot slot (Long Stride, Flying Boots). On the other hand...can't you get armor that allows you to fly?