I’m looking for any out of the box ideas for repairing a hole in a saddle flap. This is a lesson saddle (read: can’t spend a huge amount to send out for repairs), quite old but a good older brand saddle and still useful. I’d like to avoid having to replace it if possible since the horse likes it and the seat and everything else is still in good shape.
The problem is that the flap has worn a hole all the way through and it is right where the girth buckles, so even with the billet guard, riders are starting to get rubs if they don’t have tall boots or chaps. My normal tack repair guy took a look and said unfortunately his machine can’t reach high enough to sew on a patch.
So. Glue patch? Tack on something underneath? Throw in the towel?
Do you have enough holes left in the billets that you could use a longer girth and buckle it higher up?
Alternatively, I would glue a patch on the underside of the flap. I don’t know if you have a Murdochs near you, but mine sells bags of scrap leather you could cut a patch out of. HH-66 glue works pretty well for leather. Also, if there is a canvas/tent place near you they may have a heavy duty long arm sewing machine that can stitch up that high if the leather isn’t too stiff.
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Um, he can hand sew on a patch… if he knows how!
ETA a short term fix would be to glue a patch on the inside and outside (so they meet on the hole and stick together, as well as to the surrounding leather) using Barge AP Cement. Take any oils or dirt off the leather flap first with acetone.
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I was going to say you could try to stitch it yourself (a basic saddle stitch isn’t challenging, just tedious) but honestly gluing it as @Xanthoria suggests would probably be just as strong. The ideal would probably be a combination of glue and stitching, but the more I’m thinking about it, the more I think you’ll get similar functionality with only glue, and it would be a lot less work.
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Shoe Goo is my go to adhesive.
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I recently bought leather tape to use over a hole in the inside calf of my daughter’s tall boots and have been really happy with how it turned out. It’s designed to be used on leather furniture, but I could see that being an affordable and easy solution for your problem. You could even put it on both sides of the flap to make it more secure.
I ordered this one from Amazon, but there are other options/sizes also available:
Leather Tape 3X60 Inch Self-Adhesive Leather Repair Patch for Sofas, Couch, Furniture, Drivers Seat(Black) https://a.co/d/hm6It0o
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A little more expensive, but maybe manageable: replace the billets with long billets and use a short girth (dressage/mono flap style)
Use a stitching awl, with dental floss for thread.
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I would not advise a patch on the front side of panel. It is going to catch and rub on the leg, just because it has edges. Glueing front side patch probably won’t hold up against constant rubbing from legs. Possibly a BIG patch on front side, with no edges close to leg area to catch, could work. But that would need to be almost as big as the panel.
I would second putting a patch on underside of panel, glueing, then getting edges stitched if possible, to hold patch in place. Then stitching an X or some vertical lines of stitching, across hole edges to prevent snagging during rides.
The leather tape sounds interesting! Never heard of it. Might be worth trying.
That location is about the worst place to try repairing! Needs to be smooth. Perhaps the canvas awning shop can help with the stitching, but saddle needs to be REALLY clean of hair and dirt. Vacuum might help with dirt removal. Their machines are expensive.
If you don’t mind using some elbow grease, a plain leather awl, needle and waxed thread can be had pretty inexpensively, and if you’re like me, they wind up coming in handy for more than one project.
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