Dressage legal Pelham replacement?

minesadouble

minesadouble

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My mare was in a Pelham when I bought her and I have just stuck with it.
What would be your first option dressage legal bit to replace it? She is sometimes prone to leaning TIA 😊
 
I would try a hanging cheek with a similar mouthpiece to her Pelham and maybe a drop noseband. My old girl loved her Pelham and hated snaffles but was content enough in the hanging cheek, drop noseband combo. I think she liked the stability it gave the bit and it felt like the Pelham with the drop strap in the curb groove.
 
I went down the double bridle route with Bisto as he was quite difficult in the contact and also had a "difficult" mouth. It made my life a lot easier. He had a very small lower jaw, fleshy cheeks and an extremely long fleshy tongue with a huge muscle He gave me a better contact in a double but could still draw his tongue back and look uncomfortable in his mouth. I got a bit expert out to look at him and were trialling a hanging cheek turtle top bit when I lost him to colic. It has made me realise that I need to bit acording to the horses mouth conformation just as I need to find a saddle that fits. TBH unless you think your horses mouth is pretty straightforward i'd get someone out to advise you.
 
A Pelham makes leaning more common because the curb action of the bit acts as a lever and lever the nose in, to avoid it the head gets lower.
I would just try riding in simple snaffles and try and use seat aids, to get the leg underneath before thinking of levering the head in.
I like pelhams, ridden with two reins, a hanging cheek is a good compromise, but I would use a snaffle mouth piece.
https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/features/hanging-cheek-snaffle-526574
 
A curb action does not "lever the nose in", and a curb will certainly not allow the horse to lean....the curb chain acts on the chin groove as the cannons of the bit act on the bars of the jaw which means that the rider has to be very circumspect with the release of the rein. Using a broken (snaffle) mouthpiece is much less precise and can encourage riders to hang and not give the horse any release from pressure.
 
Thanks everyone, as I said initially the Pelham wasn’t my bit of choice,
It’s just what she came in and by and large she seems quite happy it in.
She doesn’t have a major leaning issue but it’s her evasion tactic of choice when she does choose to evade.
I’ll definitely try the bomber option, I’d rather not go down the drop route, she’s always been in a cavesson noseband and I’d rather in that if I can. Thanks again for everyone’s input.
 
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Cortez said:
A curb action does not "lever the nose in", and a curb will certainly not allow the horse to lean....the curb chain acts on the chin groove as the cannons of the bit act on the bars of the jaw which means that the rider has to be very circumspect with the release of the rein. Using a broken (snaffle) mouthpiece is much less precise and can encourage riders to hang and not give the horse any release from pressure.
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That's interesting.
 
minesadouble said:
Thanks everyone, as I said initially the Pelham wasn’t my bit of choice,
It’s just what she came in and by and large she seems quite happy it in.
She doesn’t have a major leaning issue but it’s her evasion tactic of choice when she does choose to evade.
I’ll definitely try the bomber option, I’d rather not go down the drop route, she’s always been in a cavesson noseband and I’d rather in that if I can. Thanks again for everyone’s input.
Click to expand...
Hi out of interest what did you go for? I’m having similar issues at the moment. My horse LOVES his Pelham and hates a snaffle ....
 
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