Quote Originally Posted by Flavius Merobaudes
As I have said, I prefer mobility to armour. And Broken Lances are faster and more maneuverable than Famiglia Ducale. They have a devastating charge and can hunt down fleeing enemies as well. You will take some more losses, but anything else would be unrealistic.

I'm not sure about the effects of horse armour except on the horses' speed. Anyone knows more about it and can post it in a systematic manner?

Horse armor adds to the total mass of the unit. It also detracts from the speed a bit. A higher mass cavalry unit allows it to charge longer after contact and to push in melee. More mass is always a good thing. The only problem is that CA has the same mass for all horses with barding and higher.