In this video I think it's demonstrated incredibly powerfully what importance needs to be placed upon anti-horse tools.
The horses do the bulk of the work in creating space that allows the police line to tighten the noose here. Without them they never would have controlled these crowds with people on multiple sides of them. They could not have maintained control.
There must be simply and effective methods to spook these horses without causing a danger to them. Something that could be deployed that would make the riders tell their superiors "we can't deploy because the horses would be spooked by x".
Anyway. What are other people's thoughts here? Obviously this protest was unprepared for a fight (although several police have been hospitalised). What could small groups of 1-5 have done in the wider engagement to make things go differently?
Even after months of military training it was hard to get guys to walk in formation correctly. Let alone a bunch of “civilian” (for lack of a better term) protestors who don’t have that time, training or commitment.
This is the key. Think of it this way: somehow you find a bunch of large poles at a protest and think "hmm, I know pikes were used against cavalry. These poles are essentially pikes. Let's grab them!"
Across the square, you see cops on horseback. "Great! We've got the weapons to take them on!". You and the other people who grabbed the poles make your way to the front of the crowd, and prepare to receive charge.
The horses advance. And how come you couldn't tell from across the square how big the horses + riders are? It's like 7-8 feet from their hooves to the riders helmet!
Still, you're holding a 12 foot pole, and you can do math. You can definitely hold off the horses! You and the people you...just...met...20 minutes ago? You know you will definitely hold your ground, right? But what about the person next to you? And the person next to them? And those horses are getting even larger, and you can hear the metal shod hooves...and you know you'll catch charges if you attack the horse or rider and are caught afterwards...and that person next to you is starting to shake a bit...
If only there was a dedicated group or party of people to instill discipline and organize the working class. A vanguard if you will.