Thanks, LuvMyNSH. 
[QUOTE=gabz;3437045]
:winkgrin: That’s why there are endurance saddles and aussies!!
So far as the “stick” goes… here’s a few tidbits.
saddles with NO tooling are more slick that saddles with tooling.
western / endurance saddles can come with suede seat or a padded seat with stitching… (more grip)
Saddles with tooling may give more grip BUT they will also chaff your upper leg more.
While there are English saddles with deep seats, I believe it’s the pommel area that provides as much security as anything. they are more likely to prevent a forward fall when a horse stops suddenly. It’s also easier to grip the cantle of a western saddle when the terrain is dicey. Grabbing the cantle will help keep you over the horse FAR more than grabbing the horn.[/QUOTE]
a few random thoughts to add to the above about stickiness-- and musing about other advantages of a western–if you’re out riding trails as opposed to trying to look good in the show ring, there’s no reason why you cant wear breeches to help you stick. I have found that my fluffy sheepskin “luxury” style seat cover is a mite stickier than cordura and absolutely helps with the jockeys jabbing the thighs.
I have so much crap on my saddle that I am guilty of the gypsy tag–horn bag, water bottles, cashel tush cush UNDER the fleece seat saver, you name it. Still, its nice to have that storage capacity.
Was out for a ride with a buddy yesterday and spotted puffballs right under buddy’s horse’s hoofs. I immediately bailed out and began harvesting, got a bunch of big ones. Now, I cant mount from the ground, so buddy was a little concerned, asking, “how are you going to get back on?” and I told her we’d burn that bridge when we came to it, these were PUFFBALLS and were going to be part of dinner for several days.
I took TP out of one horn bag and crammed it in next to one of the water bottles, took my rain poncho and stuffed it between seat and tush cush, loaded hornbag to capacity with puffballs, walked around with my gelding a couple hundred feet up a side trail where buddy spooted a little hump of dirt about a foot high and was able to remount.
Finished ride after two hours of smelling the shrooms wafting up from the horn bag. Made mental note to self, always pack a plastic grocery sack because you just never know…
Hay again
Gypsy caravan and grocery store too!!! You go girl!
Ok,… so what are puffballs?:no:
You travel like me, Jeano.
(I never knew you could eat those. We used to kick them in the yard to watch them puff! Now I know better.)
Puffballs = 'shrooms (mushrooms)
I used to take nearly empty LARGE horn bags to the apple orchard. While my horse munched apples from the lower tree branches, I was able to pick apples from “up high” … LOL…
We used to do that with pears.
[QUOTE=GallopingGrape;3455787]
Ok,… so what are puffballs?:no:[/QUOTE]
Puffballs are the simplest to identify commonest edible mushroom. They are quite similar in taste to the white button mushroom in the grocery store. I use them in soups, stirfries, anything you would put cooked mushrooms in (my Big Book of Fungi and How to Not Die Eating Them recommends wild fungi always be cooked.)
To differentiate between edible puffballs and everything else–mushroom can be white or tannish to brownish. Will have no signs of a stem or cap. The “root” end might be smaller in diameter but will not be a separate stem. Size ranges from your pinkie nail to as big as your head. Firmer is better (yark yark) than softer.
Pick your puffball, cut off sandy or buggy bits. slice it in half vertically and look at the cut surfaces. There should be NO visible internal structures, just solid whiteness. If that’s what you see you are in business. Slice ‘er up and fry in butter and the taste will make you slap yo’ momma.
The mycelium or underground, more or less permanent part of the puffball could be acres in extent. The fruiting bodies, or puffballs, tend to pop out all over the extent of the mycelium a day or so after a rain. So you tend to get a harvest right now and in abundance, then maybe nothing for a long time. If the mushroom has matured to the point of getting yellow and soft inside it’s too far gone to eat. Leave a few to turn purply black and give 'em a good kick to spread the spores.
This concludes the puffball lecture. We now return to our regularly schedule horsie programming.
[QUOTE=jeano;3455345]
I have so much crap on my saddle that I am guilty of the gypsy tag–horn bag, water bottles, cashel tush cush UNDER the fleece seat saver, you name it. Still, its nice to have that storage capacity. [/QUOTE]
Ha ha! That sounds just like me, down to the fleece seat saver over the, in my case, Supracore seat saver.
[QUOTE=jeano;3455345]Was out for a ride with a buddy yesterday and spotted puffballs right under buddy’s horse’s hoofs. I immediately bailed out and began harvesting, got a bunch of big ones.
Finished ride after two hours of smelling the shrooms wafting up from the horn bag. Made mental note to self, always pack a plastic grocery sack because you just never know…[/QUOTE]
How do you cook them? A friend of mine grabbed some ona ride once, and I thought they tasted like mushroom/tofu/rubberbands. Maybe they were too old? Oh, wait, now I see your above comments. Maybe I’ll give them another try.
A few years ago we had a banner year form mushrooms. There were puffballs as big as basketballs. In fact there were two of them up on a mountainside in my neighborhood that you could plainly see from the road, for several weeks. I don’t even want to guess how big those ones were.
Sarah in Durango
www.fourcornerstrails.com
[QUOTE=jeano;3458250]
Leave a few to turn purply black and give 'em a good kick to spread the spores.[/QUOTE]
So THAT’s what I was doing all those years ago in my back yard! Spreading spores! 
(If I’d slapped my mama I wouldn’t have been able to sit down at the table to eat mushrooms for a month!) 
More Questions About Western Saddles
Hi, I’d like to take this thread back to the original topic since I have a few western saddle questions.
I have been riding in a new (used) saddle and just love it. It has a suede seat that concerns me, though. Don’t these eventually wear smooth like my English knee rolls? Should I be doing anything to the seat to keep it in good fuzzy condition?
Also, I’m not really comfortable with the thick grippy leather stirrups. It doesn’t help I ride in thick soled Merrel hiking boots in winter. Is there a lighter stirrup alternative? Or should I just break down and buy a pair of Ariat riding/paddock boots?
A local saddlemaker told us to use a wire brush to keep the suede new and grippy.
[quote=T saddle and just love it. It has a suede seat that concerns me, though. Don’t these eventually wear smooth like my English knee rolls? Should I be doing anything to the seat to keep it in good fuzzy condition?
Also, I’m not really comfortable with the thick grippy leather stirrups. It doesn’t help I ride in thick soled Merrel hiking boots in winter. Is there a lighter stirrup alternative? Or should I just break down and buy a pair of Ariat riding/paddock boots?
[/quote]
You have your answer on the suede seat, so I’ll answer the stirrup questions.
There are all kinds of stirrups available. Endurance type, bigger roper stirrups…I prefer aluminum stirrups with a leather foot pad. They come in narrow 1 inch or wide 3-4 inch. I don’t like visalia stirrups that are narrower at the neck, makes my foot feel too tight. I wear heavier boots in the winter, too and I have one saddle with roper stirrups and one with the 2" aluminum.
I hate oxbow stirrups, so uncomfortable for regular riding, unless you are cutting cattle. :lol:
[IMG]http://www.nrsworld.com/istarimages/p/t/pt-SA200!SAWAL.jpg)
[IMG]http://www.nrsworld.com/istarimages/p/t/pt-SA300!SAWAL.jpg)
[IMG]http://www.nrsworld.com/istarimages/p/t/pt-57-1050!JTI.jpg)
[IMG]http://www.nrsworld.com/istarimages/p/t/pt-210-306!COURT.jpg)
If you need to ride in insulated boots in the winter - you should be able to find some oversised “plastic” stirrups - no leather pad.
Keep the leather padded ones for summer riding.
Be careful using hiking boots for riding though - their sole is too grippy.
