I know some players may prefer the current ("vanilla") horse movement controls - but i find it to be the worst thing i have ever encountered in any video game.

Most of the time my horse is turning in the opposite direction of the one i want, and the act of going in reverse is just mind boggling.

Not to mention that the entire "mouse controls horse's direction" thing is abysmally horrible.

I am hoping to control my horse the same way i control my character (dragonborn), with the same method of strafing and reversing if possible.

Is there any setting, tweaking of game files or perhaps a mod that significantly improves (or simplifies) how the horse moves/turns/reverses?

At this point it is so bad that i am finding it easier (and less stressful) to just not use the horse i bought.

some people prefer vanilla horse riding? says who? lol. Horse riding is ok if your going in a straight line and that's about it.

Combat svcks from the top of a horse. You can't even fire an arrow to the side or behind you or even closer to your feet. My archer characters have had to dismount from their horse to kill a damn spider. The only thing marginally worse is dragon riding and that was terrible.

Not sure how they got horse riding so wrong considering Red Dead Redemption that came out before Skyrim did got horse riding just about spot on. 90% of your fights can take place on the back of a horse and its so fluid.

If there is one improvement I could beg for in the next TES that would be better horse physics. And a smarter horse. Horse riding aside the other turn off to using horses is your horse rushing into battle. If anything it should hang back when you dismount and go into a fight. Would your real horse charge into battle by your side? Not likely lol

Thanks for replying.

I know a very good mod to fix all the mount issues you are having: Convenient Horses

http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/14950/?tab=2&navtag=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nexusmods.com%2Fskyrim%2Fajax%2Fmodfiles%2F%3Fid%3D14950&pUp=1

It is amazing for all that horse AI stuff you wish, and more - you definitely have to check it out.

I know holding Shift (walk) button makes the Horse easier to turn and navigate in tight spaces (like melee combat) - but i still would prefer a proper strafe and reverse command for my mounts.

Oh thanks for the tip. I've pretty much avoided horses because of the vanilla controls issue.

That convenient horses mod will not fix the controls, unfortunately, but it will make the AI much better - and you can customize the AI and other options.

I find it to be okay but yea it could need some improvements. I dont think there are any mods for this unfortunately

as for combatI feel archery from a horse should be hard. I managed to become quite good at it after a lot of practice

No first person, no magic combat, no thanks.