snaffle or pelham

[jemma]

Right . . . i usually ride in a snaffle at the yard .. but have been advised to ride in a double pelham for the hunter class in the shows. I considered this as a good idea as think the stronger bit will help as he gets strong at shows and also think the double reins look more the part .. but i have had limited experience in using them .. any suggestions

thanks

[bellazebra]

Try it. You'll never know unless you try. As long as you are fairly dextrous, double reins are no problemo. I find a pelham on mine helps his soften his jaw, relax through the poll, and work into the bridle. Give it a spin and see what you both think.

[Bay Mare]

Try a mullen mouth pelham, they're not as harsh as people seem to think that they are in the right hands and a lot of horses go a lot better in them :)

[Shadowlark]

I second Bay Mare, but wanted to add resist the urge to try a jointed Pelham.. they are in huge fashion over here.. and belong in the garbage can along with tom thumbs due to the way they mess up cues

[Glider]

A double will give you a much more refined action, but a pelham suits some horses better. If using a pelham, I tend to go for the same mouthpiece as the horse is used to, all pelhams give mixed messages, since pulling on the top rein pulls the curb chain away from the chin (so if you use the top and bottom rein together, some of their actions oppose each other).

Do you have someone to help you with fitting and learning to ride with two reins?

[eml]

If you are just using it to 'look right' then use a mullen mouth rugby pelham which can be dressed with a slip head to look like a double. Remember to ride with the 'snaffle' rein on the outside and have a slight loop in the 'curb' rein so you are effectively riding in a mullen mouth snaffle.

If you horse gets strong having the curb rein with just slightly less tension then the snaffle will enable you to use it in an emergency. I personally like to ride with the snaffle between little and third fingers and the curb between second and third but experiment to find what works best for you.

[Horsewoman]

I second Bay Mare, but wanted to add resist the urge to try a jointed Pelham.. they are in huge fashion over here.. and belong in the garbage can along with tom thumbs due to the way they mess up cues


I have heard it said that jointed pelhams are a bit OTT but we have a boy who hates mullen mouths but goes a dream in a jointed Pelham - rider has excellent hands though.