twinchester

I’m interested in the glock 30, ruger gp100, ruger lcr, S&W M&P 9/40C, 3” J frame, 4” K frame, and the Kimber K6. PM sent.

The "bobble on a stick" is a sam brown button stud. It sounds like the rivets have too much post length for the material you are using. I use a cheap setter from tandy to set the jiffy rivets. I dont know of any plier type tool that will set any kind of rivet. Hope this helps.

Some places call them "splash" rivets.

A few things to help in the future. Notice the skirts flare out flat? That usualy means the plugs are cardboard. Some edges are burnished, some not, and some half way done. Usualy a sign of poor craftsmanship. Wrinkles in the seat jockey points to poor leather or the wrong part of the hide for that piece of the saddle. The stirrup leathers are way too thin in my opinion and they appear to have a blevins slide that is too wide. That's a major safety hazard. One way to tell guality at a guick glance is stitch spacing. I dont know many reputable makers that stitch 4 TPI. Lots of the cheap imports do. Lots of "extras" like the shield on the fork, the wear leathers, etc are done cheaply to imitate quality. I would have the rigging checked by a qualified saddler before trusting it. Many are held on with only staples. I hope this isnt too discouraging. I've been where you are and with the right guidance from saddlers, books , and this site I've learned a lot. You're at the right place to learn.

A lot of spanish mustang folks have done research on less vertebra in thier horses. I dont know how much is scientificly correct but its a decent place to start. They have big name genetisits working with them on DNA and skeletal issues so maybe some general info csn be obtained there. SMR, HOA, & SSMA are a few of the registries to start.