Yes, barding is available for sale.<br/><br/>I'm going to have to say no to crafting while on horseback. In general there's not a lot of downtime in this book because you're supposed to be off exploring the wild and the NPCs can provide magical healing to minimize recuperation time. Come the next book there'll be a lot more nation-building and you'll have weeks and months on end to craft to your heart's content.<br/><br/>Night tea and scroll sounds good. And dayum, but is dat one fine sorceress.  8-)