Pelham for schooling??

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pipper

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One of my gang is ridden in a french link to school - but a pelham to hack. she is quite good at working on the bit - if a bit of hard work. but after hacking out one morning i had a quick schooling session with the pelham in - OMG how easy it is to ride in one! nice and light and beautifully round!
any way - my question is...
is it a big 'no no' to school in a pelham or could it 'teach' the pony to work like that all the time? i realise that a pelham is a 'forced on the bit' i was thinking of using it every third time, or would that be a big mistake?
what are your thoughts?
 
My cob is in a pelham for everything. He used to be in a snaffle but is so much nicer and also happier in a pelham as I don't have to keep pulling on his mouth.
 
Pelhams have their uses - but personally I would never school a horse in a pelham, gag, kimblewick or those wretched hanging cheek/filet boucher snaffles - I find them all far too numb and the horses evade them by leaning or ducking behind them.

Give me a nice little hollow loose ring jointed, or better still french link any day! Better still with a copper or sweet iron mouth pieces! They seem to suit the way I ride which is always into a light contact allowing the horse to carry itself.

That said, I've been in the business for over 20 years and am a bit of a fossil - probably lots of new fangled bits that are just as good.....(just no bling please!):D
 
Much prefer the snaffle, would never school in a pelham. It is severe and your horse is probably not working correctly, more tucking her nose in to avoid the pressure.

Keep going with the snaffle!
 
I think if you've got two reins, know how to use them and when and are gentle then it could be just what you need. Especially if you use it as a temporary measure and go back to the snaffle when you have him going nicely.
 
My horse is more comfortable in a pelham, I always use one hunting, I now keep it on for hacking and I expect I will school in it too (I don't do that very often!) there is just no argument, pulling or throwing his head around in protest to the snaffle ... in the pelham I just use my body weight and slightest of pressure on the bit, no arguing at all :)

I have tried loads of bits and the pelham is defo the best for my horse. :)
 
Why not? A bit is a bit. I had a horse that was a different animal in a pelham, went beautifully, light and responsive, miles better than in a snaffle. Only thing is that you can't use it for a dressage competition.
 
My horses love the pelham with mullen mouth and also Cambridge port. Used with two reins they school beautifully. I tried loads of bits to find one which suited my Irish Draught - he hated KK sprenger with the lozenge and also Myler bits. With the pelham he's off the forehand straightaway and so light. I really don't understand why the pelham has such a bad press yet I see critics hauling away with draw reins and other such implements of torture.
 
The thing is, i do compete at low level dressage with her. So that is why im querying using the bit - will she (and me) become reliant on it - if i only use it every other time will that be ok? she does go nicely in the french link - but having felt the difference of the pelham it was the difference between a mini and a ferrari if you know what I mean!!
 
I'd try schooling her in it for a few sessions in a row and then swap her back and see what happens. You may well find that she has learnt to carry herself a little better and is better in the snaffle.

If it doesn't improve her way of going in the snaffle switch to showing where pelhams are accepted! :D
 
Mine wears a pelham with two reins for everything. In the school, I ride almost 100% from the snaffle rein, occasionally applying the curb for refinement. Don't compete in dressage, but horse is well-schooled and works very nicely in it.

Out hacking, again mainly ride from the snaffle, but my goodness I've been pleased to have emergency brakes on occasion!

I feel they are a rather misunderstood bit. I don't have any problems with steering or pulling (well, not in the school), so theoretically my horse could be schooled in a snaffle. However, he goes much, much better in the pelham, so that's what I use.
 
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