using pelhams

[cluelessmolly]

just wondering, there have probably been a few threads like this .. who rates pelhams as a good bit? i havent had much experience with them and was wondering why they were so frequently used in showing?

[CurlyWurlyRach]

i used a pelham for a while....mainly cos i didnt know better and when i pulled the reins it put my horses head in a nice position. She backed off from it and i still couldnt stop her in one! so we gave up, i didnt find a whole lot of difference in a snaffle.

I guess they dont work for everyone :)

[jowyles]

I find mine very useful, have recently been trying to drop down to a snaffle but its not really working, we are tending to lose the ability to turn corners, bend and stop within 5 mins of asking. Pelhams are better used with two reins, in experienced hands and on bigger horses. I ride a beast of a horse who even with much schooling owuld still be a heavy ride because thats his attitude.

[Fizz]

i school in a french link snaffle but need to really use a pelham out hacking.

he was hunted in a pelham & when hacking he can grab the bit & tank off unless he is in the pelham.

my aim is to be able to canter safely in the french link in company by the end of the year:D

[mogadoga]

I school in a FL snaffle too or waterford.
I hack in a FL hanging cheek. But if hes in a mood or not been out in a while etc i do use my FL pellham. And for showing. But tbh he doesnt 'go nice' in it. Just more a brakes thing for hacking. Hes a big strong lad, and its not nice having no control!

[Daffy Dilly]

I quite like mine. Had a major breakthrough on Sunday when I swopped my curb chain for a leather curb, he no longer tries to catch the shank in his mouth so he can evade it. I primarily use it to relax Daffy's jaw, at the moment because he's strong out hacking, but when schooling or showing because it looks better and can help improve the outline achieved with just a snaffle. I'm learning to use it with more refinement, and hope to have upgraded to a double by the end of the season.

Used frequently in showing by people who know what they are doing because a) two reins look better and b) their horse probably dislikes a double or c) isn't quite ready for the double bridle.

Used frequently in showing by people who aren't sure what they are doing (or think they are but have no idea) because a) two reins look better and b) the curb pulls their horses head in and "looks pretty".

[bellazebra]

My cob goes beautifull in a pelham. He needs a little curb action because if he had his way he'd mince around like a giraffe all the time. I'm lucky enough to be light in the hand and dextrous enough to use each rein independantly (used to play the piano ;)). I also prefer a pelham over a double because Harvey has a little mouth with a big tongue, so cannot abide having two bits of metal in his gob! I use a straight bar pelham with a slight port just to give his tongue a bit more room.

[chev]

Pelhams are often seen in showing because you can use a sliphead and make it look like a double bridle...

As a bit, they have their place. Prefer Kimblewicks myself; the action of a kimblewick is much clearer than a pelham is (pelhams, even when used with two reins, are not very clear in their action) - raise the hands for a more snaffle action, lower them for curb. Pelhams tend to be a bit more fuzzy in the way they act - they are neither curb nor snaffle, really.

But I know horses who love them; and Barbara Woodhouse regularly started ponies in pelhams, and had good results with no other gadgets at all.

A pelham, while it does try to mimic a double bridle in one, does not do that (not as effectively as a kimblewick) but does still offer a lot more than just 'brakes'.

[Mossy]

The bit of choice depends on who is riding and what they are doing. I use a pelham a lot, hacking for Connie, who infinitely prefers it to a snaffle for fast work. It is her "line in the sand" She is soft, the brakes work and should she decide to have a "way hay" buckette, I can get her head up. Fast hacking in a snaffle is a constant nag as she does not feel that I am in control. Moss gets schooled in a rubber pelham and hacked out in it if he needs a salutary reminder of who is boss!!! Agree with Chev though about kimblewicks. They are great bits esp if you only want one rein.

[ClaireBear_nz]

I use a pelham on my new horse, and it makes a lot of difference if we're jumping or doing exciting stuff (like a gallop on the beach). In a snaffle, he'll occasionally set his neck against me and tank, but then in the pelham, he'll go nicely, relaxed and not overbent. I don't use it for normal schooling, and hopefully will outgrow the need for it in more exciteable situation.

[joey_olop]

I ride my boy in a mullen mouth pelham, he hates the nutcracker action of the snaffle but was a little strong in the straight bar snaffle.

I use 2 reins on mine so I can use the lower rein when I need a bit extra breakage :D

[Bebe]

I use a pelham on my small mouthed, low palate, fleshy tongued horse. She goes best in a mullen mouth bit but a snaffle on it's own doesn't give the fine-tuning needed for me to lift or move a shoulder, ask for tiny degrees of flexion, etc. A pelham does and she understands its action. She doesn't have room in her mouth for a jointed bit or a double, though she goes almost as nicely in a myler (they're very slim and the joint is covered).

In the wrong hands or on the wrong horse it can create a "pretty" effect as it's relatively easy to get the horse to drop behind the bit and go in a false outline, so it's not a bit that should be used by the inexperienced rider or by someone who rides with a strong contact.

[Bay Mare]

In the wrong hands or on the wrong horse it can create a "pretty" effect as it's relatively easy to get the horse to drop behind the bit and go in a false outline, so it's not a bit that should be used by the inexperienced rider or by someone who rides with a strong contact.

I agree, and I think that's the problem with them. You can create a 'pretty' shape which is not correct if you don't use them sensitively or correctly.

As I've already said on other threads I'm just trying Saff out in a pelham and she's going MUCH better, overbending LESS and working in self carriage MORE. The difference almost immediately was more than I'd expected. The person riding her (I still can't ride following my accident) is very good in her hands and barely uses the curb.

I would always use them with double reins though for schooling.

[Mossy]

I agree, and I think that's the problem with them. You can create a 'pretty' shape which is not correct if you don't use them sensitively or correctly.

As I've already said on other threads I'm just trying Saff out in a pelham and she's going MUCH better, overbending LESS and working in self carriage MORE. The difference almost immediately was more than I'd expected. The person riding her (I still can't ride following my accident) is very good in her hands and barely uses the curb.

I would always use them with double reins though for schooling.

I always use them with double reins FULL STOP.

[Jessey]

I have used a rubber pelham on Bo occasionally, he is normally riddn in a straight bar happy mouth but if I think he is likely to have a buck or tank then I will happily switch - I always use double reins.
Here is the fat man, the first time we rode him in the pelham - the day before we were going to the beach :D
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y291/Jessey129/c9df773f.jpg

[Bay Mare]

I always use them with double reins FULL STOP.

Yes, true :) She tends to wear her snaffle for hacking out in though but I would use 2 reins for hacking if I did. A lot of people don't but again it depends on the hands holding the reins. I, personally, don't like roundings at all.

[Bebe]

I always use them with double reins FULL STOP.

Same here. I don't find having two reins to be a problem when I'm hacking, though occasionally I do drop the curb rein by accident when I've been riding on a loose rein and not paying attention.

[puzzles]

i am no way against them. they are useful for certain horses who go well in them, and for showing/dressage - however (no offence directed at anyone) i do feel really sad when, as soon as someone asks help with a horse who is too strong/bolts/won't listen, etc, Pelhams or other bits of the same family (like Kimblewicks) are actually recommended, and also when people ride with only one rein; if they want to use one rein, a gag is preferable as one rein ruins the action of pelhams, as do the straps that link the snaffle cheek piece with the curb cheek piece.
so there's my starement.

[Afellpony]

I'm going to try a Pelham on Falcon (2 reins) as he's getting too strong in the Snaffle. I wouldn't use roundings and a single rein because then the whole purpose of using the Pelham is lost. With roundings the whole action is completely altered as they are too long to have any affect.

[Mossy]

Hi
By gag do you mean a multi ring snaffle or a true gag bit? Either way, both are designed to be used with two reins. In the case of the multi, one on the snaffle and one on the other ring. In the case of the gag, one on the running cheeks and one on the bit rings. Imho the bit of choice depends on many things, equine comfort, rider skill and experience and intended job. I would never be didactic but personally I would rather see a confidently used pelham than multiring, tight flash and martingale which seem to be the catchall round our way. Just a thought
eta you cannot use a pelham for dressage as far as I know.

[Afellpony]

Pelhams have been discussed somewhere else on this board. No, I'd never use roundings as the straps are too long for this particularly piece of tack to be of any use really. (I've written this somewhere else I think on the other discussion re Pelhams).

[puzzles]

roundings deaden the bit's action and ruin it; the whole point of 2 reins and the 'snaffle' and 'curb' cheekp[ieces is that they act in different ways to complement each other.
a versatile bit is ruined when roundings are added.