How do a mount's actions work?

[Kraken]

While mounted, which of the following, if any, are possible merely with ride checks by someone with no relevant riding feats or class abilities?
1: Mount double moves toward target, rider free action dismounts via a DC 20 ride check and uses a full round action to charge, essentially moving double the mount's speed plus double the rider's speed in one round.
2: Mount moves toward target and readies an action to move again after rider finishes attacking, rider full attacks, mount's readied action to move away triggers (RP wise, this is merely the rider guiding the mount with their legs)
3: Mount moves and readies an action to move again, rider free action dismounts via a DC 20 ride check, full attacks with a bow with no penalty for being mounted, free action mounts with a DC 20 ride check, triggering the mount's readied action to move again. Assume free action abuse of this sort is okay unless a rule specifically prohibits this particular thing, since this is all hypothetical anyway.

[Kraken]

Anybody? This is the only rule I could find that's relevant to mount actions: "Your mount acts on your initiative count as you direct it. You move at its speed, but the mount uses its action to move." Based on that wording, I'm not even sure the mount and rider need to do their actions sequentially, IE, rather than needing the mount to ready the action, it would just take it later.

[Urpriest]

Direct from the Mounted Combat rules:


If your mount moves more than 5 feet, you can only make a single melee attack. Essentially, you have to wait until the mount gets to your enemy before attacking, so you can't make a full attack.

So 2) and 3) definitely don't work. 1) might, though it definitely violates the spirit of the rule.

[Kraken]

Would 2 work if it were changed to a single melee attack? Could you clarify why 3 wouldn't work? The wording you quoted seems to apply to only melee attacks, and would otherwise contradict the rules that later mention penalties for shooting during a double move and run:

"You can use ranged weapons while your mount is taking a double move, but at a –4 penalty on the attack roll. You can use ranged weapons while your mount is running (quadruple speed) at a –8 penalty. In either case, you make the attack roll when your mount has completed half its movement. You can make a full attack with a ranged weapon while your mount is moving. Likewise, you can take move actions normally."

[Urpriest]

Would 2 work if it were changed to a single melee attack? Could you clarify why 3 wouldn't work? The wording you quoted seems to apply to only melee attacks, and would otherwise contradict the rules that later mention penalties for shooting during a double move and run:

"You can use ranged weapons while your mount is taking a double move, but at a –4 penalty on the attack roll. You can use ranged weapons while your mount is running (quadruple speed) at a –8 penalty. In either case, you make the attack roll when your mount has completed half its movement. You can make a full attack with a ranged weapon while your mount is moving. Likewise, you can take move actions normally."

Ah true, I had made the wrong association.

3) should conceivably work, then. The only problem, like the problem with 1), is that the whole reason this rule exists is to model the fact that you and the mount are acting at the same time, not sequentially. But since the rules don't go into enough detail to prevent something like this, it should be legitimate.

[Kraken]

Okay, thanks. I'm going to seriously use mounted combat for the first time ever in a coming game, and while I'm unlikely to try and use those tactics, (nor would they likely be allowed), that at least gets me an idea of what the rules are - I had hoped there was another trove of mounted rules elsewhere that I had missed. Perhaps Unchained will make things better when it comes out.