Riding intelligent mount

[Ridley's Cohort]

And what if the mount does a Move + Action instead of a double Move? Is it automatically impossible for any rider to take a full action?

The RAW, in places, seems to imply that the initiative of all riders and mount are locked. This has a few weird side effects that seem overly restrictive IMHO.

Perhaps I misunderstood something?

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

By RAW, you are right.. riders and thier mounts share initiative.

This does go counter-intuitive in some cases, but does not overly restrict the rider. As long as you are riding a trained mount and can succeed at the free action Ride check to avoid falling off, you can take whatever non-movement actions you want.
- However, a melee Full attack can not happen if the mount moves more than a 5' step..as the only movement shift allowed in the same round is a 5' step.

You can full attack with a bow while riding a mount that charges in to attack, altho you will get some hefty penalties to hit. It usually ends up still being a more optimal choice to grab a lance.

The big loophole in the RAW is riding either uncontrolled or intelligent mounts. I am mildly surprised WOTC has not tackled this one yet as it seems to come up quite alot.
Is there a D20 Westerns game that covers this sort of territory?