Questions About pelham

[littlen]

I would like to show my Arab properly and as a result I think he will need to be in a double bridle or pelham and would like some advice please!

He is currently in a French link snaffle with copper. He is okay in this bit and is easy to stop and understands aids well. He plays with the bit and seems to mouth it.
He naturally does not work in an outline but will drop into it with 15mins of schooling, but once he gets bored or excited he throws his head above the bit and head tosses.

He also holds his head very high when excited at shows or doing any fast work. He hollows and goes above the vertical no matter what I try. He has been known to mini rear with excitement.
I would ride hm normally in his snaffle. The pelam would purely be for showing.

For showing I would like to try the pelham but have never used one before? Would it be good for a horse that holdes his head too high and gets strong.
Would it not be too strong for him if he is used to a snaffle?

I have light hands but have never rode with 2 reins. Is it easy to pick up and whAts the easiest way to hold them?

Would you show in a pelham if your horse was mainly ridden in a snaffle?

Oh and finally, I'm a little confused by the curb. Do I have to use one?

 

[ilovecobs]

Use a curb and a lip strap as thats correct, i found it pretty easy to grasp the 2 reins thing, cross them over and hold the snaffle rein on the bottom and the curb further up, this is correct for showing aswell.

As for mouth pieces, i ride my cob in a french link snaffle at home and she loves it. I tried a few different pelhams and the only one she liked was a mullen mouth one. I always show in a pelham, its correct turnout even if your horse doesnt need one. I find if my horse is getting a little carried away and strong if i use the curb too much she keeps going too fast but with her head on her chest so i squeese her with my legs a little and half halt on my outside rein useing the snaffle rein as much as i can, this seems to work well for her but every horse is different. I would say start off with a pelham and then if next season you find that this year you have only really been useing the snaffle part and not the long curb part i would change to a double as then you can just use the snaffle on its own and no curb at all (the action of a pelham is a little confuseing and difficuld to use purely as a snaffle as it was made as a merge of the bits in a double. Whereas with a double you can just ride with the snaffle and the curb is their if you need it.
You can get pelhams with shorter or longer shanks or curbs, i only need a short one but it doesnt suit my horses face at all so i use a longer one as it looks better but i have to be a little softer on it.
good luck showing