I have a Tad Coffin saddle that is 8 years old. Very lightly used , maybe 30 minute rides, 5 times a week, on one horse. The leather and everything about the saddle is excellent, except the tree cracked in half in the middle of my ride a few weeks ago. It cracked from across the seat , not length wise. This saddle is $6900 new. I have never had a saddle tree crack before on any type of saddle , i do not understand what happened to this one. So I found a used Delgrange saddle to use in place of it and I love it and I think my horse likes it better then the Tad Coffin , only time will tell there. Even if I get the Tad Coffin fixed I think I would use the Delgrange as i and my horse like it better so far. So the question is what to do with the Tad Coffin? I think the cost to replace the tree is around $2500 . I spoke with Tad on the phone , he said he has no tree to replace it with , and that he would let me know when he has one for it… its been a few weeks , I have texted him since but he does not get back to me . Any advice on what to do with the saddle, seems too nice to junk, but also unable to fix, or not worth to fix. Being a high end saddle , I felt when i purchased it that getting a repair if needed would not be a problem, but because he uses his own tree no other saddle repair place can fix it that I know of? Please give advise. thank you
What did you pay for the saddle and what is the resale value if you fix it? I can’t imagine the resale value is more than about $3000 (about 50 % of retail or less at that age). So it’s not really worth it to fix unless you want to use it.
Yeah I Googled ebay. Less than US $3000.
If you gave it away to someone who would then get the tree fixed, they might think that was a good deal.
Do you know of the tree was cracked when you bought it and it just finally sheared off in use?
I have had the saddle for 8 years, it was like new then and never had any drops or anything. I am sure over that time it would have shown something if it were starting when I purchased it. The new tree replacement would be his new therapy tree, so I think that would make it more $$$ then an average used 14 year old one. But not much . I do have other horses , so there is always the chance that one now or in the future may like the TC .
The tree is a really important part of a saddle, like the engine in a car. Sometimes it’s worth dropping a replacement engine into an old truck if you can get the engine cheap enough but often it’s not. And I doubt you can use another brand of tree. I do think $2500 is a lot for this job.
I just looked at the saddle it is a 2014 model , not a 2008. So only 8 years old, I had it for about 6 years not 8 years.
If you do not need the saddle now, I wouldn’t bother. You could certainly hold onto it in case you wanted it for another horse in the future, but there are also a lot of used Tad Coffins on the market and you might well be able to find what you want for the same or less.
I am a terrible saddle hoarder/collector but one thing I’ve learned is there is always another saddle out there.
Pics of the saddle. just hard to part with .
It is so hard when a valuable useful item develops a fatal flaw. Engine block cracking, dropping cell phone in a water bucket, saddle tree cracking. That’s how people end up with 5 trucks and 6 fridges in the weeds behind the barn. You certainly have my sympathy here.
There is a company that takes the leather and turns it into purses/wallets. You can consider doing that?
I have to chime in and say that a friend of mine lost his phone and found it two hours later in a water bucket. And it still worked!
$1000-2500 seems appropriate for replacement tree job. Remember you are paying for the tree plus labor. I’ve certainly seen both ends of the spectrum quoted. Pre-pandemic I was quoted about $1200 so I imagine it’s gone up quite a bit.
I’m not confident the return on investment is worth it for things like this. I ended up cutting the billets off of mine and donating it as a display. If you are sentimental there are plenty of leather workers who can take the saddle and make you anything from a satchel, luggage, or a purse.
I would also consider giving it away to someone that feels it’s worthwhile putting the fix into it because they got it free. I did that with my beater truck after the engine failed. My friends found a reasonably affordable fellow to put in a functional engine.
Interesting side note: I was perusing their site and they also serve lunch too?
Talk about multi talented! 
I’ve done it for saddles before, but not at that cost!!
My 2-3 year old CWD wound up with a cracked tree and it was ~$1000 to replace the tree through CWD, maybe a little less?
And a few years ago I had a 20+ year old County Stabilizer with a broken tree that I took to an independent saddle repair gal and it was ~$1000 to replace that tree.
I guess it might be worth going to an independent saddle repair person and seeing if they have any way to do it for less, although I guess the most likely answer is that they won’t be able to get the Tad Coffin tree for any less than TC will sell the repair to you for. How frustrating!
Its not just that he wont sell the job for less, its that he also doesn’t have replacement trees available.
I had a County Stabilizer saddle a few years back that popped a rivet and I sent it to a saddle repair person on SC (David Young , but the phone number I have for him is out of service now), he fixed it and I had it back in 1 week, i dont remember the cost but it was minimal. I guess having a saddle with normal wooden trees have their advantage when it comes to repair.
Thank you for that link.
I am now daydreaming of having DH’s saddle & a bridle from my beloved TB made into a purse.
Shipping both to the UK can be done reasonably, as I find her pricing very affordable considering the sentimental value.
Calyse is in NH. I have one of her purses and it’s adorable. She incorporated a sheepskin halter fleece into the design and I get compliments on it all the time. I do have to condition it regularly just like a saddle!
Let me preface by saying “I know nothing about Tad Coffin saddles.” I’ve never heard the name before. I have an old Passier Dressage saddle with about a zillion miles on it; very comfortable, still looks good, and an even older Stüben saddle that is still in good shape. Didn’t spend a ton of money for either one of them.
However it would seem that “High end saddle”, and “Cracked Tree” are sorta mutually exclusive terms.
And the maker doesn’t seem very concerned? It would seem that a maker of “High-end” saddles would be anxious to have the saddle back, for Failure Analysis if nothing else.
I don’t think I’ll be putting one on my wish list, and I don’t think I would be using “Tad Coffin”, and “High-end Saddle” in the same sentence.
Phooey on that :-P.
Thanks a zillion for that info! 
Shipping to NH (especially since condition on arrival won’t matter) s/b doable.
Now I know what will happen to my “heirlooms”.
I’m a teeny purse person, so her small model looks perfect 
If she can get a wallet out of them I’d be thrilled.
And I’ll request the ID plates be included in the design as they have meaning:
-Si Jayne model saddle 
- from Marshall Fields
-My old saddle plate - circa 1989
-Brass clincher browband from my TB of 20yrs
-Balkenhol snaffle - 199-? - one of the first anatomically-shaped mouthpieces
I’m excited 
