DISMOUNTED MONGOL ARCHERS
While it is absolutely true that the Mongols and all warriors of the Eurasian steppe preferred to fight from horseback, fighting from foot was done when necessary.
We see, for instance, in accounts of Mongol wars against the Mamluks, against the Jin and Song Dynasties, and even against the King of Pagan (today's Myanmar) Mongols dismounting to meet different tasks.
Song Dynasty envoys Peng Daya and Xu Ting wrote how one of the tactics the Mongol vanguard employed was to read towards the enemy, dismounted and then shoot at them; they were protected by circular shields strapped to the shoulders which protected them which they did this. It seems the idea was for greater accuracy and more precise shots, while also not making their horses a target for the enemy.
Similarly, when battling King Narathihapade of Pagan during his invasion of Yuan-ruled Yunnan, the Burmese elephants frightened the Mongols' horses. The Yuan commander ordered his men to dismount to shoot at the elephants, with their horses left in the security of the tree line. Here, the horses were unreliable platforms to accurately shoot from.
Against the Mamluks, towards the close of some battles the Mongol dismounted; Reuven Amitai-Preiss interpreted this as the Mongols' signalling their willingness to fight to the death, the exhausted horses now reduced to impromptu-barriers against the Mamluks.
You can learn more about other Mongol cavalry tactics in my latest video series;
