As stated before in an older (unsatisfying) thread, hold and attack does not solve the problem for horsebowmen: They are not using the speed of their horses sufficiently!
One
would want that they move closer to the enemy, fire at the enemy while
keeping some distance, and then retreat orderly (or engage in meele for a few rounds).
Hold and attack means that they will fire from their far away starting position, their cool horses grazing, and then charge stupidly...
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Aside, I'm quite new to the game, and I do believe that the game is kinda balanced, so there must be another good reason why this expensive unit is worth building?! Why is no one here giving this precious secret of cleverly using horsebowmen away?
I'd love to build an empire on horses...