Pelham for XC? Roundings or two reins?

AGray825

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So after a couple lessons it's been decided (by me and my instructor) that my girl is going to need a Pelham for her XC adventures in order to give me some extra breaks.

So I'm eyeballing a Myler Pelham on Ebay (as she goes so nicely in her Myler Comfort Snaffle in her flatwork... she'll even accept a contact in trot now, can you even believe!!) for £55.99 which seems too good to be true so I'm not sure whether to risk it HERE <---- does it look genuine :confused:

So firstly, if that doesn't look genuine (and I certainly don't want to shell out £115ish for a new one if it's literally just for one thing), what other mouthpiece might suit her if she loves the Myler?

And secondly, if it's for just XC, as a novice two rein rider would it be better to use roundings instead to prevent any rein confusion on the course, or should I spend the next week or so getting used to two reins?

And thirdly, would a Pelham be the only sort of bit that could help here? Or are there other options we could try?
Many thanks in advance for any help!
 

DirectorFury

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The bit looks genuine but even if it's not it's still the same style as the Myler. The horse doesn't care what brand the bit is ;).
Personally I'd rather use two reins than roundings to avoid any confusion for the horse. You're using the Pelham for more control so you owe it to the horse to be precise in its use, imo. If you do decide to use roundings try and get a pair these (https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/features/pelham-rounding-bit-connectors-654008) rather than the traditional type.

Re: different bit - what does she do? Get strong, put her head on the floor and do as she wants? Or throw it up? Up and down? Pull you out of the saddle? Just set and go? Different bits are for addressing different problems. And there's always the schooling angle to consider.
All of the above assumes that you're satisfied she's not in any pain, all tack fits, and she's up to date with the dentist :).
 

AGray825

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The bit looks genuine but even if it's not it's still the same style as the Myler. The horse doesn't care what brand the bit is ;).
Personally I'd rather use two reins than roundings to avoid any confusion for the horse. You're using the Pelham for more control so you owe it to the horse to be precise in its use, imo. If you do decide to use roundings try and get a pair these (https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/features/pelham-rounding-bit-connectors-654008) rather than the traditional type.

Re: different bit - what does she do? Get strong, put her head on the floor and do as she wants? Or throw it up? Up and down? Pull you out of the saddle? Just set and go? Different bits are for addressing different problems. And there's always the schooling angle to consider.
All of the above assumes that you're satisfied she's not in any pain, all tack fits, and she's up to date with the dentist :).

She's a very quick, strong little Welsh D with a semi-high head carriage in general, though it's a nice jumping head carriage, she makes a beautiful shape over a fence it's just before and after she tends to get very excited and go for it!

We're currently schooling to correct it at home and it's going nicely, but I'd rather have those extra breaks when we're actually out and about (Plus a farmer has recently given us permission to use a nice long grass strip on his land as a canter track on our small hack route and I'd love to go for it but I dunno if she'll come back to me with her normal snaffle)

Back, teeth and tack have all been checked within the past three months and there's been no negative change to her way of going (only positive!)
 

DirectorFury

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She's a very quick, strong little Welsh D with a semi-high head carriage in general, though it's a nice jumping head carriage, she makes a beautiful shape over a fence it's just before and after she tends to get very excited and go for it!

We're currently schooling to correct it at home and it's going nicely, but I'd rather have those extra breaks when we're actually out and about (Plus a farmer has recently given us permission to use a nice long grass strip on his land as a canter track on our small hack route and I'd love to go for it but I dunno if she'll come back to me with her normal snaffle)

Back, teeth and tack have all been checked within the past three months and there's been no negative change to her way of going (only positive!)

She sounds a hell of a lot like mine (also Sec D mare that's happiest in a mullen Myler!) so I'd go with the Pelham with 2 reins if you think you can manage them :). I used a cheap mullen mouth Pelham for fast work and she loves it, never gets strong and doesn't stick her head in the air and try and run off. I use a leather curb (modified old flash strap) rather than a chain because she prefers it. 99% of the time I ride just off the snaffle rein and just touch the curb to get her to come back from canter or gallop. Much easier than having a pulling match!

It's very sensible to have the extra insurance of a slightly stronger bit while out and about doing exciting things, especially while you're working on re-schooling :).
 

AGray825

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She sounds a hell of a lot like mine (also Sec D mare that's happiest in a mullen Myler!) so I'd go with the Pelham with 2 reins if you think you can manage them :). I used a cheap mullen mouth Pelham for fast work and she loves it, never gets strong and doesn't stick her head in the air and try and run off. I use a leather curb (modified old flash strap) rather than a chain because she prefers it. 99% of the time I ride just off the snaffle rein and just touch the curb to get her to come back from canter or gallop. Much easier than having a pulling match!

It's very sensible to have the extra insurance of a slightly stronger bit while out and about doing exciting things, especially while you're working on re-schooling :).

I think in that case then I'll buy the cheaper (potentially knock-off) Myler Pelham today and then we'll have a good week and a bit (and a lesson with our normal instructor) to get more comfortable with two reins before heading out for our clinic with the different instructor!

I was going to buy a leather one anyway (was looking at a couple in the region of £10-£15 - £15 being an NS one and £10 being a brand I've never heard of!), but could be idea to repurpose an old flash strap - I think I've got a few lying around somewhere....

Yes, I'd much rather be able to get her back quicker with a lighter touch, rather then spend ages pulling to get her back to a sensible speed! And having that insurance will allow us to go and do more things as well, which she really really enjoys (for example we have plans to go to Thetford Forest in the autumn, I'll feel so much more comfortable knowing I have those extra breaks!)
 

ihatework

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For a novice with 2 reins I&#8217;d say practise at home but use roundings to start with at least. Maybe not the most correct/traditional but plenty of useless 4* riders are happy to use rounding :D
 

be positive

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See, I wouldn't, but am used to riding in 2 reins xc and hunting.
Means that when I need the lower rein to come into play more, then I'm able to use it correctly when required.
But, each to their own.

I would also use 2 reins but as an instructor would prefer to see someone with roundings being able to concentrate on riding the course than fiddling about trying to work out which rein to use, it takes ages to be able to use two without having to think about it and in my view going xc for the first few times is enough to think about, most horses won't care as long as they are comfortable in their mouth and the rider is not fiddling about constantly.
 

abbijay

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If you do decide to go down the 2 reins route (which you will probably pick up quicker than you expect to) I would suggest getting 2 pairs of very different reins so you can quickly identify which is which by feel or sight. Personally I like a thin, plain leather curb rein and a rubber snaffle rein for xc but I think continental reins would work well too and ideally have them in different colours - yes it looks a bit odd but it does occasionally help you when you've slipped your reins over a drop fence. Also, I prefer a longer curb than snaffle so I'm less likely to be hanging off the curb.
My horse came to me in a Pelham with 2 reins and I have ridden XC in roundings for fear of having too much "knitting" but I found him to be too sharp as I was unable to say which button I wanted to press.
 

ycbm

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Bog standard roundings work really well on most horses that need a Pelham to jump in, though on some I replace the curb chain with a piece of stirrup leather, and on one I used to show jump with a curb but cross country without it because he behaved very differently xc if he thought you had too many brakes.

I would never choose to jump fast with two reins in a situation where slipping the reins is routine practice if the horse goes well with one. It's just not worth the potential fuss to have a second rein if you don't need it.
 

ILuvCowparsely

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See, I wouldn't, but am used to riding in 2 reins xc and hunting.
Means that when I need the lower rein to come into play more, then I'm able to use it correctly when required.
But, each to their own.

Well really it is my mares problem, she goes better in the pelham with the roundings on, she isn't strong just spooky and with her big spooks like when I came off the other week when that car spooked her I would rather have one rein to deal with.

I have used two reins before many times with my old mare as we had a double bridle, this mare it is a process of elimination of bits and gadgets as to what suits her and this was the best combination to date . :)
 

Templebar

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If you do decide to go down the 2 reins route (which you will probably pick up quicker than you expect to) I would suggest getting 2 pairs of very different reins so you can quickly identify which is which by feel or sight. Personally I like a thin, plain leather curb rein and a rubber snaffle rein for xc but I think continental reins would work well too and ideally have them in different colours - yes it looks a bit odd but it does occasionally help you when you've slipped your reins over a drop fence. Also, I prefer a longer curb than snaffle so I'm less likely to be hanging off the curb.
My horse came to me in a Pelham with 2 reins and I have ridden XC in roundings for fear of having too much "knitting" but I found him to be too sharp as I was unable to say which button I wanted to press.

I second this, i use two reins out hunting and use these rules when searching for reins. Also have gloves that are thin enough to give you plenty of feel.

On getting used to them test a few ways of riding with them as there are a few ways. Traditionally it was snaffle rein as usual and curb one higher. I prefer curb as usual and snaffle one higher so i can twist my hand for the effect i want. I have also ridden with snaffle in both hands and curb in one, so if needed i could drop or catch the snaffle rein with one hand and use the curb, that is when feeling particularly strong. At her most strong out hunting i rode with one in each hand, but steering wasn't needed as that would have been difficult.
 
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