So it is no surprise that he has spent the past 31 years making saddles and other tack from his work premises on the main street of Waikouaiti.
Mr Todd (60) grew up in the area before leaving for a few years. His saddlery career began when he started "pulling saddles to bits and making them up".
Initially self-taught, he has travelled to the United States, Canada and Australia and worked alongside other saddlers.
Over those three decades, he has made saddles for a range of clients - from high country musterers to rodeo riders. He has made nearly 400 saddles in New Zealand and "quite a few" when he was overseas.
He usually made at least 12 to 15 saddles a year, which was a big part of his income. It took about a week and-a-half to make a saddle "start to finish".
When he was not making saddles, he was busy doing repairs and making "other horse-related stuff" and leather goods, like rifle scabbards.
The importation of Indian leather saddles and tack, starting about 25 years ago, had a big impact on his business, he said.
Mr Todd used to source his leather from the Glendermid Leathers tannery at Sawyers Bay but now had to get it from the United States.
When he first started making saddles, they cost about $400-$500, now they were between about $4000 and $5000.
While the methods of saddle making had not really changed over the years, styles had changed and he had to keep up with those changes. Fully carved saddles were the fashion 25 years ago but now the trend was for plain leather.
For many years, Mr Todd made trophy saddles for rodeos until they were sourced from overseas.
One of his more unusual jobs was making a quarter-size saddle for a sculptor who had sculpted a horse. It had to be white with gold stitching.
"That was a bit different," he said.