I like the side by side videos, good way to show comparison.

I found my stash of links and toggles.

Hi Major,
Yes, cheddar or jack was added and they were fried.  Although, spraying them with non stick spray and cooking in a hot (425) oven does really well too.   

We put all kinds of things in them, taco meat/cheese, refried beans/cheese, peanut butter, chocolate.   Also it was in the era of tinned biscuits, 10 rolls for $1.   We did a lot with those too.   Throw in Jiffy cornbread and that was our basic diet, with more carbohydrates coming from beer.   

Funny, I switched to an anti-inflammatory diet 7 weeks ago.   About 3 weeks ago it was like the clock was turned back 30 years.   And have lost 15 lbs to boot.  As good as all of the above sound, I am happily resisting temptation to go purchase any of that.   

The saddle ring was a military thing, back when it was used in conjunction with a sling across the body.

That way, the trooper could fire the single round - drop the piece and yet retain it to reload to try again.

The Cavalry actually practiced this and trained for it - as they did with trained mounts - that's something civilians generally did not do.

Also - Cavalry fought dismounted - using a horse handler to handle the reins during the action - they fully understood that a standing or kneeling man could probably actually hit his target without the pitching and movement of a horse.

Weapon retention was a valuable idea - no doubt leading to the inclusion of saddle rings on carbines later in time, but there were no corresponding slings - largely because the weapon now used a scabbard, instead of the loop of the saddle's equipment that held the barrel in one place.

The military discontinued used of the ring around 1896, with the first of the Krag carbines - it stayed on civilian carbines to this day.

Unless the horse has been trained to ignore gunfire, his appreciation of hearing the round being fired is less than optimal, so if you're going to take that shot - better get screwed down...

Scouts Out!