pelham question

scottishterrier

scottishterrier

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Jun 18, 2008
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hi apologies for yet another bit question.
Im considering getting a pelham to try on spooky, however after looking at several at highland show today the woman in shop had me in a tizzle about mouthpieces so i gave in.
Spooky was in a normal single jointed bit then went on to try a french link. both he seemed comfortable with but both bits(a 3 ring gag and a wilkie) so what mouthpiece should i get with my pelham. i thought a normal single jointed but woman in shop was saying a mullen mouth was better for strong horsesor that even a soft rubber was better but i got a bit confused and decided to look more into it and buy one online.
so what do you think>? he is very strong and has tanked off a fair few times now so i wanted to try this out xx
 
It often depends on what the horse likes, but I find single jointed Pelhams are a bit of a no-go really. The don't really 'sit' right in the horse's mouth IMHO - the nut-cracker action seemed to be rather 'resented'.

Is there anywhere you can borrow some bits to try before you buy? I would try a hard rubber pelham, a mullen mouth and possibly then a double joint or a single joint.

I WISH you were closer to me, I have a few of each and would happily lend them to you. If postage wasn't so much from here, I'd put some in the post for you, but it would cost a fortune. :(

Can you ask around and see if you can borrow some different types?
 
i would go for a mullen mouth (steel) aswell.

i havent met many horses who like rubber (vulcanite) pelhams, they are very thick and there just isnt enough room in their mouths for them.
 
I always think that while a pelham is only as harsh as the hands that use it (as any bit is), having a single jointed moutpiece makes it unnecessarily harsher than I could be.

Doey goes very well in her hard rubber solid mouthpiece, I think it is a mullen mouth, it looks like this:

rubberpelhem.06.jpg


She also however goes very nicely in a french link snaffle in the school! So they can suit different mouthpieces and as the pelham is really quite different in its action to the snaffle, it is likely a different style of mouthpiece will suit.
 
sadly no one around me i can borrow from. i think i will go for the mullen mouth and see how he does. do you think i should try rubber first or get the metal and see how he goes?
 
If he is chunky and doesn't have much room in his mouth then pls don't use rubber. Cloud was ridden for almst 3yeaes in 1 before we got her and she hated it.had no breaks ran through it and hardened up her mouth as people coulbt realize a prob obvi 2 me as soon as I got on her. Created lots of bad habits which we are schooling out and she is now in an2 ring gag with French link and is much happier. Try maybe porter or mullen or even a double as can't lean on it andnmight he better
 
I'd try a metal mullen mouth too, however, a word of warning... if your horse is anything like mine (very strong and opinionated when she want's to be, no brakes or steering in a snaffle of any description, perfectly capable of completely ignoring a gag etc!) then he WILL throw the toys out of the pram the first few times you use it!

Dolly was a nightmare the first few times in hers, head in the sky or between her legs, trying to go through it, turning in circles trying to evade it etc... once she calmed down and realised that although I did have the 'power' to engage it and make things uncomfortable for her, I wasn't going to unless absolutely necessary for our safety, she became a different horse. You do have to be careful not to be heavy handed with it though- I was constantly reminding myself 'gentle hands, gentle hands' as I'd got so used to hauling (unsucessfully!) on a snaffle!

Now I hack out on the buckles, only picking up the reins to up the pace, I can confidently canter three strides in the middle of a huge open space and bring her back to trot with a squeeze, or gallop half a mile and still be in control. She'll walk when asked to- where she used to jog everywhere and even occasionally engages her arse.... we're happy slacky hackers not into schooling as such, but she will work nicely if asked in it!

I would advise using two reins if you possibly can, roundings just 'muddy the waters' and defeat the object IMHO, and I'd also advise starting off with an elastic curb and moving up through leather to chain if necessary- I stopped at leather, never needed a chain.

Good luck!
 
HairyCob said:
I'd try a metal mullen mouth too, however, a word of warning... if your horse is anything like mine (very strong and opinionated when she want's to be, no brakes or steering in a snaffle of any description, perfectly capable of completely ignoring a gag etc!) then he WILL throw the toys out of the pram the first few times you use it!
Click to expand...

Now that I can totally relate to! Joy had a right old paddy when I first tried her out in one and through that experience I discovered that a change of mouthpiece was all she needed. She didn't need the curb action and this is what she objected to. Of course me being me I made mistakes on that as my thread from March 2008 testifies. Joy didn't do or need curb pressure and made sure I knew that! :D

Joyscarer said:
Well I finally tried Joy in the new bridle and Cambridge Pelham bit.

I knew exactly what I wanted to do which was to try her just on the top rein first and then gradually get used to holding the 2 sets of reins so that I could gradually introduce the curb action when needed.

Well me being me, I funked it and chickened out! :eek:

I had bought a bridle off eBay but the quality was so crap that there was no way that it was going near Joy so I went to my local tack shop during the week to buy a better one. Whilst I was in there I got talking and explained what I was doing as my next step with Joy. Well E told me exactly what I wanted to hear which was that I should go with roundings to make things simpler for me.

I know that roundings don’t allow you to give clear rein aids and separate out curb action from bit action but so wanted roundings to be right answer for both Joy due to my lack of confidence in myself that I bought them. :rolleyes:

This evening I got the whole kit and caboodle adjusted being careful to adjust the leather curb so that it came into action at what I thought was the right time. I had read that this would be with the Pelham at about 45 degrees but Heather Moffat recommends at 30 degrees so I thought I would split the difference. I made sure the leather curb was held in place over the chin groove by the lip strap. All well and good and I felt ready to have a go at riding after Joy had been happy with the bit in her mouth for a while. :)

Well we didn’t get very far. I don’t ride with much of a contact anyway but the roundings meant that every time I put a feel on the reins the curb always came into action. Joy hated it after only a couple of hundred yards she flung her head about, opened her mouth and flapped her tongue about outside of her mouth which I have never seen her do.

So I stopped her, remained there for a beat or two to let her calm down and then turned back for home. On the way back I rode purely off weight aids and no rein which Joy is fab at thank goodness but she kept over bending and trying to stick her head between her legs. It really upset me to see what I had done to her and I’m in tears now just thinking about it again.

I can't understand how in such a short time I got such a dramitic reaction given the gentle contact I did have up til then.

When we got back I took the roundings off and put the curb reins on as I had originally planned. I didn’t feel confident to manage the 2 sets of reins and didn’t want to upset Joy anymore than I already had so I rode off the snaffle rein and left the curb rein dangling. What a difference!

Joy was so much happier in the Cambridge mouthpiece than the French link she has been ridden in and without the curb action she settled straight away.

I didn’t go for much of a contact so soon after upsetting her with the roundings employing the curb but I am looking forward to seeing how she goes on a decent contact and whether she accepts this. All being well after that I’ll gradually start to introduce the curb when needed with timing and weight controlled by me rather than with the roundings that apply the curb all the time.
Click to expand...
 
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