Yeah... gives an all new meaning to the term "saddle sore," doesn't it?
So, I decided to remake Arvak into a ghost. I figured that someone riding around on a ghost horse would be less likely to scare the daylights out of someone than riding around on a flaming horse skeleton. In essence, I made Arvak more kid-friendly.
I based Arvak's body on Shadowmere's, except that I changed his eye glows into a bluish color. Also, since he's a ghost, he shouldn't need rest... so I jacked up his health and stamina to really high levels, as well as made him relatively invulnerable. I also changed his behavior so that if you're in combat, Arvak will attack your enemies. (He's supposed to be loyal after all.) This gives him the double duty of being a familiar that you can summon to defend yourself as well as a steed. I also jacked up his speed so that he's 50% faster than Shadowmere. Also, the summonable version has an Imperial saddle.
So basically, I made Arvak into the anti-Shadowmere.
The downside? Arvak will be harder to see in the daytime.
This mod requires Dawnguard, of course.
Endorsements and comments are welcome.
Enjoy.
UPDATE: I updated Arvak's ghostly appearance to be more consistent with the ghosts of the Soul Cairn.
NEW UPDATE: After several requests, I've added a version without the speed buff.