Why Do They Hate The Pelham?

[1 morejump]

Okay, you may have read my other thread asking about the Pelahm and I kept doing research about it.  The main thing I hear is that the vast majority of dressage riders hate the Pelham bit, not so much from personal experience but just pure, uniform, haterid.  Why?  If I come to a show using a Pelham why am I going to get chewed out for it?  If my horse goes better in it why should you care?  Why does the snaffle have to be the only thing we use?

[Heather]

Hi 1morejump, and welcome!


The Pelham is something that I have been an advocate of for years, and proved it's worth yet again here in Australia this weekend. I will write more about it when I get home next week, as I still feel that it is vastly misunderstood and underestimated in it's use.

But that could all change, thanks to a certain new Pelham bit devised by Albion Saddlery and the great German rider Klaus Balkenhol- it is currently being used as an interim bit between snaffle and changing to double, and also an everyday bit, by a number of leading dressage riders, and is why critiscism of my use of it seems to have diminished compared with a few years ago!!


Heather

[Murphysmum]

Its becouse they have been told it is a harsh and inefective bit, probably by someone who they see as being an authority i.e an instructor, and would not question what they were told, as all instructors, farriers, vets etc are God, and they would not have got it wrong, would they?

I like this story-

A friend of mine always cuts a leg of lamb in half before roasting it, I asked why, she said becouse her mother always did.

I asked her mother why she always cut a leg of lamb in half before roasting it, she said becouse my baking tin is not big enough for a whole leg.

Get the point  
 

[shoveltrash]

yep - there's a mistaken 'image' of the pelham (in this country) as a very harsh bit, meant for bargy ponies.

the other argument i've heard is that the leverage of a pelham causes a false head-set....but i think it's up to the USER (!).  any tool can be misused IMHO.

pelhams are illegal in dressage comps here in the US. :(
i hadn't heard about Albion's pelham!!!!
how EXCITING!
 

[stranger]

I don't like 'em all that much -never have seen the point of them myself.  When I get to the point of training where the curb control is desireable,  I use a double bridle--but then I ride Thoroughbreds and they tend to have the right size and shape of mouth to manage two bits quite easily.  I can see that a small-mouthed horse might have problems there and a single mouthpiece might help things along but until I met EE I must admit that I had never thought of a pelham as a potential training device.

However-having said that--since reading Heathers book and being on this website I have actually BOUGHT two pelhams to play with.  

Red was neither impressed or bothered by it but he did try to 'curl away' from the curb rein, however lightly I took it.  He doesn't do this in the double though--so in effect the pelham makes him harder work.  I can see however how it might help encourage a tense jawed horse to think about loosening down.

I STILL can't see any value in the jointed one (except perhaps there might be a phsycological value to it if a nervous or uncertain rider thought that it would give them more control) however.
Pelhams are appearing more and more in the show-ring--and at all levels too-especially the Rugby Pelham (the one with the link attached snaffle ring that is supposed to look more like a double. I have even seen them with a slip-head to the snaffle ring to enhance the illusion) but I shan't hold my breath on the FEI or BD welcoming them with open arms any time soon.

[Mossy]

Hi,
Just my humble thought but could the hatred of pelhams be to do with the tight fixed contact that is de rigeur in dressage circles. If you ride a pelham with a tight contact a horse will curl behind it. The poor b****rs have no choice. If you get a strong necked pony it can lean on a tightly held snaffle and stick two hooves up at you. With a pelham you can force the head in, regardless of what the back end is doing, so the poor horse hollows and curls. Just a thought.

[lisaNW]

It was nice that my local saddler actually suggested a Pelham for me the other day because she thinks it would be better than the jointed snaffle I'm currently using - so perhaps the prejudice against them is disappearing!
I used to have one when I first had my old gelding 16 years ago - and it was always suggested then that it was a harsh bit (although, they may have had a point as my hands were probably far from refined!).  

[Wendy]

I agree - I have been using a rubber covered pelham for some time, it makes a huge difference to my horse's way of going. I was recently told, however, that as soon as you use the curb rein it puts pressure on the tongue which concerns me.

So I'm still using it but looking for alternatives. I'm going to try the NS comfort snaffle, eggbut because am fed up of seeing the pinch at the corner of his mouth that appears with pelhams and hanging cheeks.

It's really hard to know what to go for and what part of the mouth is affected. Different people will tell you different things. Again, we have to listen carefully to our horses I guess .

[1 morejump]

Wait a minuet!

Shoveltrash

pelhams are illegal in dressage comps here in the US.

REALLY!?!?!?  Do you know what organizations don't allow you to show in them under their guidlines?  Or are we just screwed and can't use them at all?

[ros]

Any bar bit will put a degree of pressure on the tongue, but a mullen mouth less so than a straight bar.  But then ALL bits put pressure on something, for goodness' sake!  And if your horse is happy and controllable, the amount of pressure that's required is obviously a whole lot less than if you were fighting it in a bit it doesn't like    

[smileyginger]

1morejump:

Pelhams are not an allowed bit in dressage at all in the US.  USEF takes FEIs lead and FEI doesn't allow them eitheras far as I know.  In low levels it's snaffles all the way, in upper it's a full double - curb w/bradoon.  Check USEF's website, pull up the pdfs regarding dressage competition and search for "bits"  there's a section with pictures of allowed bits.

HOWEVER in HUS, jumping etc, the pelham is allowed as far as I can see.

It's a stupid reg in my mind - I feel like whatever the horse goes best in should be what's allowed - and if the rider is being obviously harsh then THEY should be penalized, not the piece of equipment.  But that's a whole other story...

[Claire]

They're illegal in british dressage as well.

interesting thread.

when i was debating what to put in Molly's mouth, i was considering a pelham but don't think i could cope with two reins (let alone the grief from the rest of the world on the topic of whether a pelham is harsh nor not).

but went for a mullen mouth snaffle - which is what the bit in the pelham is, in effect - and it's working fine, she's much happier than in anything previously tried.

[stranger]

Wait a minuet!

Shoveltrash

pelhams are illegal in dressage comps here in the US.

REALLY!?!?!?  Do you know what organizations don't allow you to show in them under their guidlines?  Or are we just screwed and can't use them at all?

You CAN show in them-but you cannot ride BD dressage comps in them.  

[1 morejump]

BD?

[Vikki]

BD = british dressage

stranger is referring to how we can use the pelham here in the UK; they are acceptable in showing classes here, as well as showjumping