There’s always been a “niggle” about horse archers when we see them in miniature form. The pose is always the “classic” one of the archer firing from the gallop, the problem arises (if you are playing a rank and file game rather than a skirmish game) that when you base them up the riders are mainly going about the business of shooting their brothers in arms in their right ear.

Now classically horse archer never rode “at” the enemy, rather they rode across the enemy units frontage shooting as they went (which is where the classic horse archer pose comes from and is what we see here), and even they sometime rode in a circle formation in the enemies front (for example this one was popular with the Huns). Now we can’t really do that when basing for a rank and file game. Perhaps there’s a possibility if the game uses KoW style multi-base/footprint style basing. But again ALL the horse archers are in an actively firing pose (perhaps this would be useful if you wanted to depict your horse archers as being surrounded?).

I do wish as some point the sculptors at Victrix (and other ancient minis companies) would look to adding other poses (like loading, or even just riding while holding the bow “down” ready to use). You do perhaps see one or two options in sets like these, but the majority are all in “ear piercing” poses.

BTW this isn’t really a rant at Victrix (the figures are really good), but rather a niggle that’s been there for years now in how horse archers are depicted, and the problems with basing them up for use in a game without them look “odd”.