Is a pelham ok with no chain ?

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Hancoxfamily

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My girl can be very strong but has a sensitive mouth ive found she prefers straight bar rubber but a snaffle she can take of with me as she's very spooky so I found I had to really pull to get control so with the pelham I've found I can have soft hands all the time and keep control if we go shooting across the school from the monster in the corner but is it ok without the chain I don't like the thought of them ?
 
The chain prevents over rotation of the bit

You can use a leather or elastic curb as a "softer" option than a chain; though a standard double flat linked chain is non abrasive and form finding.
 
you can fit the chain tight which increases the severity, or loose and use rubber chain guard, or even some sheepskin to minimize pressure
always use a fine leather lipstrap to stop the bit turning up too far, that is why there is a little metal loop on either side of the bit shanks
 
Pelhams are more harsh without the chain. The chain is there to prevent you pulling the shanks too far back and over rotating the bit.
If you don’t want to use a chain you can fit a chain guard or use an elastic or leather curb. But you DO need something.
Take a look at Enlightened Equitation, Heather is a fan of sensitive use of the pelham.
 
Yes of course it's OK without the chain. It just becomes a hanging cheek snaffle on the main rein and a long shank bit without a curb chain on the curb rein, and lots of horses all over the world are ridden in those.

Whether your own horse thinks it's harsher or softer depends on the horse, and whether it is more reactive to poll pressure or curb pressure. . I had a horse who was impossibly enthusiastic show jumping and I had the curb on for that phrase. But if I had it on for the cross country he thought I didn't want him to attack the fences, so I did the cross country phase without a curb.

On most horses using a Pelham, I would have a piece of stirrup leather, not a chain.
 
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please use a lipstrap its there to stop a nasty accident where the bit gets caught in the reins or flips over, do research correct use of this bit
 
tristar said:
please use a lipstrap its there to stop a nasty accident where the bit gets caught in the reins or flips over, do research correct use of this bit
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How is using this bit without a strap any different from using any other long shank bit without a strap?

Doing cross country with no strap, I had no issues of reins catching or bits flipping with it at all. Neither did anyone using American gags, bubble bits on the lowest ring,
 
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Cahill said:
i have seen a bottom ring get caught over a tooth with some one once.not nice
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Same tiny risk of a freak accident as with any other long shank bit then?

Why not advise the millions of people using American gags, bubble bits, NS universal, NS jumper etc, to fit a strap?

How is this NS jumper bit safe without a strap and not a Pelham?


https://www.horsebitbank.com/_setup/spaw/uploads/images/action-of-neue-schule-jumper.jpg


8023-16-140-NSJC_P.jpg
 
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Cahill said:
i have seen a bottom ring get caught over a tooth with some one once.not nice
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I've seen the same thing with a stirrup iron and a horse nosing the rider's boot - both freak accidents.

Lipstraps are almost never used nowadays, except for showing. Their supposed function is to keep the curb chain in the chin groove and stop the horse lipping the shank.

If curb bits are used without a chain they cease to be curb bits and become somewhat indistinct leverage snaffles, they have their uses (mostly for people who are afraid of curbs :-) and I do occasionally use them this way for unschooled horses, but perhaps the best thing for your purposes is to use either an elastic or heavily padded rubber curb chain guard?
 
which is why i always use safety irons, anything that can get caught will get caught, why not do things properly, if you can`t be bothered for yourself, do it for the horse, or don`r bother riding

i am sure heather at enlightened equitation would delighted to advise or discuss as she has rec pelhams and used them so much, don`t be afraid to email she is very approachable,and also has a forum

then you can think it through before buying one

the idea of the lipstrap is to stablize the whole thing with safety in mind, also you could talk to bitbank
 
tristar said:
which is why i always use safety irons, anything that can get caught will get caught, why not do things properly, if you can`t be bothered for yourself, do it for the horse, or don`r bother riding
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I don't understand your logic here? Bent leg irons have just the same capacity for the horse to get caught, and all other forms of safety iron that I know of have clips or a stub arm, which are definitely more likely to get caught.
 
tristar said:
which is why i always use safety irons, anything that can get caught will get caught, why not do things properly, if you can`t be bothered for yourself, do it for the horse, or don`r bother riding

i am sure heather at enlightened equitation would delighted to advise or discuss as she has rec pelhams and used them so much, don`t be afraid to email she is very approachable,and also has a forum
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..ahem: it actually was a peacock iron, and the horse ended up with a ripped out tooth - ANYTHING can get caught up, stuff happens.
 
Apart from other reasons for a lipstraps already mentioned, I was told long ago that it keeps the chain in place and prevents you from loosing it should the chain somehow come loose at both ends. My lipstrap is similiar to this one:

https://www.thesaddleryshop.co.uk/p_346_kincade-lip-strap

I then also use a Prolite curb chain cushion to help prevent discomfort and I thinks it's a brilliant product. It sort of wraps around the chain and lipstrap, creating one soft unit which must be so much more comfortable for the horse:

http://prolitepads.com/bridle-roller-and-travel/35-curb-chain-cushion
 
Thank you very much for everyone's advice my daughter rode her today I put a leather strap with sheepskin on it that is used on a hackermore that I had I definitely noticed she seemed a lot more relaxed the bit didn't move so much so it was more stable in her mouth
 
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thats what i said , anything can get caught, so i take all precautions and hope for the best, that all you can do
 
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