Seat seam split - cheap fix?

[fermecinqsens]

I just bought an older Black Country for cheap. Flocking was redone recently, tree sound, fits me and horsie well.
BUT the leather on seat and knee rolls is really fragile and thin. There is a split starting on the seat seam and otherwise it’s just really fragile.
I asked a local saddler who does repairs and he said I can only replace the seat which will cost more than the saddle cost to buy. Given its age, I’m not really interested in investing much money.

I’m wondering if I can just super glue the part that’s coming undone?
And is there anything I can do to try to help protect the rest of the seam?
Planning to ride in a sheepskin seat cover.

Any ideas appreciated.

[Grey623]

If you aren’t too concerned with aesthetics, go to a craft store and get some leather/pleather/vinyl sheets and leather glue and just cut and stick a patch over it. There are also leather repair or patch kits you can find on line. I’ve had pretty good luck with this on some old saddles. Some patches held up better than others, but just replace as needed.

Grey

[SolarFlare]

I was told by the saddler that if I patched the seat, and eventually did want to replace the seat, that the skirt would also likely need to be replaced. He also told me that a seat saver might put excess pressure and friction on the tear and cause further damage, so I decided against that. I also asked about using superglue - same thing.

I did actually have him take my saddle to replace the seat, and ended up getting it back months later with no new seat because he couldn’t find any good quality leather to use. He was running into ongoing supply chain problems from Covid, and had used leather from a different supplier to replace several seats that were then showing excessive wear only a few months later and had to be redone. I just ended up getting my saddle back and live with the tear. It got a bit bigger and then stabilized.

On a different saddle I had (older Crosby dressage), he told me to just put a piece of Gorilla tape on the tear. It worked perfectly and the tape actually stayed put for a couple years, and the tear didn’t get any bigger. Tried the same thing on the jump saddle and it didn’t work - the tape kept coming off and in the summer I had melted adhesive on my breeches. But, worth a try as it’s cheap and if it works, it works well.

[SinMiedo]

I ended up with a Black Country that had an identical issue. I dabble in leather work and the price was right so i figured I’d take a stab at a repair because the saddle is otherwise perfect. I cut a few strips of thinnish buffalo leather and skived them down to reduce bulk, then glued them to the underside of the seat in the torn areas. Then i awled through that and stitched it into the welt. The result isn’t super attractive, but it’s holding up well so far. I use a fluffy sheepskin seat saver for additional protection (and because it keeps my heiney delightfully warm, lol) and with it in place you’d never know it was repaired.

[Mango20]

I got thin patches glued onto a saddle with a tear in the seat. You can’t see them when you’re in the saddle, and it held up just fine.

[steelerino]

@SinMiedo

I ended up with a Black Country that had an identical issue. I dabble in leather work and the price was right so i figured I’d take a stab at a repair because the saddle is otherwise perfect. I cut a few strips of thinnish buffalo leather and skived them down to reduce bulk, then glued them to the underside of the seat in the torn areas. Then i awled through that and stitched it into the welt. The result isn’t super attractive, but it’s holding up well so far. I use a fluffy sheepskin seat saver for additional protection (and because it keeps my heiney delightfully warm, lol) and with it in place you’d never know it was repaired.

So you are the one who bought my old saddle??!! Lol Small world we are both COTH’ers

[SinMiedo]

That’s awesome!! For the record, i absolutely love it and so does my crabby old man. We’ve put in many happy miles in it with hopefully many more to come!

[blue_heron]

Are the holes getting any larger? If not I would just leave them alone. I have a saddle that has split in the same place. I haven’t done anything to it for years and the holes aren’t growing. I assume it was from someone riding in jeans.