Essentially, the forage cap, described by some troops as shapeless as a feedbag, was a less-expensive and more comfortable version of the earlier shako with the stiffening removed.
When a horse uses a feedbag for the first time, offering it in a hand-held position, without strapping it on, may allow the horse to become accustomed to it.
In popular culture, the feedbag is used in the expression strap on the old feedbag, meaning to dine.
