Mounted combat rules assume you are riding an appropriately trained mount for combat. If you are not riding a trained mount, the GM may have you make additional Skill Tests, or might not even be able to ride that mount once combat begins at all.
You must use your Actions to call a mount to do certain actions. While mounted, you are stuck in a saddle (or bareback) and cannot use your own move speed until you dismount.
To perfectly control a mount, you must have the reins in at least 1 hand, leaving only 1 hand free. If you have both hands off the reins, you have a -2 Situation to any d20 Test made while mounted.
You cannot effectively use any item with an EP value of 3 or higher while mounted, regardless of what it is.
Finally, you so long as you are proficient with the shield, you can hold the reins in your shield-hand, effectively using a shield and guiding your mount with the same arm.
You can dismount a creature gracefully at any time. Dismounting Gracefully allows you to get off the mount without any checks, but requires you to use a Master Action, and is done in the Miscellaneous Phase (4) in combat.
You can attempt a swift dismount as well. This uses an Action, is done in the Miscellaneous Phase (4) in combat, requires a DC 10 Dexterity Skill Test, and allows you to land in a space adjacent to your mount. You can land 10 feet away with a DC 15 Dexterity Skill Test, and 15 Feet with a DC 20 Skill Test.
If you fail at any of the above Skill Tests, you land in a square adjacent to your mount, are prone, and take 1d6 bludgeoning damage from the fall.
If at any point an effect causes you to become grappled, incapacitated, restrained, or prone, you fall off your mount as if you failed the above skill test. Saddles can keep you on your mount in many cases.
Creatures can attempt to grapple you off your mount, but you have a +1 Situation to your opposing roll. If they succeed, you fall. If they succeed, and are in a saddle, the creature must make an additional roll against your saddle to see if you fall as well.
There are 3 kinds of Saddle: Common Saddle, Military Saddle, and Knight's Saddle.
The common saddle is mostly for rider comfort, and has a very small percentage chance for you to stay in the saddle when accidents occurs (10%), but also doesn't impede when you try to do a swift dismount.
The military saddle helps buckle you in, so you are much more difficult to pull off of a mount, and much more likely to stay on (50%), but have a harder time performing swift dismounts (-3 Situation on d20 tests made to swiftly dismount).
The knight's saddle buckles you in completely. It is very difficult to pull you off the mount (75%) but you cannot swiftly dismount.
You can perform an attack with any weapon from the back of a mount. You are considered to have the High Ground when attacking non-mounted foes who are smaller then your mount. Additionally, you have new functions: