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Just looking into this on wikipedia, & found a statement that 'recent evidence suggests' lances could be effective without the use of stirrups - but doesn't give any citations, so take it or leave it as you will. Perhaps it depends on the type of saddle used - obviously you'd need to be able to grip the horse with your thighs, or maybe have a type of saddle that held you in place, or you'd risk coming a cropper every time you struck something solid. Of course, you could thrust with a spear even riding bareback, but you wouldn't have the same momentum, so I suspect that we aren't talking about a 'classic' cavalry charge, but more like charging to the fight & thrusting with the spear.
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