Seeing past the armour in Horse Buff

Barding is useful and also enormous. A horse in full diamond armour fills a good part of the screen directly in front of you, and the head sits right where you want to be looking.

While you are riding, your own mount's armour is drawn see-through. The armour still works and still protects the horse; it is only the drawing that changes, and only for the rider. Anyone else nearby sees a normally armoured horse, and it becomes solid again the moment you dismount.

The same treatment covers a llama's carpet and a horse's coat markings, so those do not obscure the view either. There is also a setting to nudge the head angle down a little if the neck still sits higher on screen than you would like.