Is there any particular reason that the swamp dragon is there only bardable mount ? Would it be possible to have barding for other non etherial mounts . Just a thought.
Personally, and this will piss off a lot of players, I think PvP mounts should be living creatures only, that can't be bonded. Players should still be riding regular horses, with barding on them to help them stay alive a little more..when they die, the barding dies with them. Make it easier to make than swamp dragon barding of course, and not as expensive.