Why are Pelhams so disliked?

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Joyous70

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I have been advised to try my girl in a Pelham, she can be very strong when schooling and uses her shoulders to power through, and takes an age to soften in her jaw, my instructor has advised i try a Pelham for a while but after a few sessions schooling in it to go back to my snaffle and see how she responds.

I have had a few aghast looks and comments such as its not a true contact etc., it creates a false outline, omg they are so strong. I have found her to be very light and responsive whilst using the pelham, and on the plus side having a good blast across the hay field we had control, i am hoping that i can use it for jumping, as when we are jumping she gets so excited we loose all control and steering and i am merely a passenger, something which i would like to rectify.

Why are Pelhams so frowned upon? in my opinion if my girl is happy in it and more responsive and light etc. surely this is better than having to take a pull?
 
I suspect that it isn't so much the Pelham that is frowned upon but reaching for a quick fix instead of schooling properly.

If it is used appropriately, for the right reason, and with the appropriate work and schooling to ensure it is used correctly, then I can't see why anyone would take issue with it.
 
OrangeAndLemon said:
I suspect that it isn't so much the Pelham that is frowned upon but reaching for a quick fix instead of schooling properly.

If it is used appropriately, for the right reason, and with the appropriate work and schooling to ensure it is used correctly, then I can't see why anyone would take issue with it.
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This is what i don't understand i am using this after my instructor suggested, and as you say it is being used appropriately etc, however, even after explaining this i am still looked at like i have two heads
 
Some people just want to criticise anything so pick on whatever is nearest, I quite like a pelham on some horses but would want to see two reins being used for flatwork so the snaffle rein is used clearly as the main contact and the bottom rein brought into play as required, using roundings will be more likely give a false/ fixed outline and it may be harder to get back into a snaffle, for jumping/ fast work roundings have their place.
 
Joyous70 said:
This is what i don't understand i am using this after my instructor suggested, and as you say it is being used appropriately etc, however, even after explaining this i am still looked at like i have two heads
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In these situations I generally look at who is doing the twittering.

If they walk the walk I listen.
If they just talk but have never walk I 😏
 
People in this part of the world have been taught that snaffles are "kind" and anything with a curb action (i.e. a pelham) is a "harsh" bit. It's down to prejudice and ignorance and being uneducated in the basics of riding.

The snaffle is a rather blunt instrument, perhaps useful in the backing process for the most basic schooling, but very often abused in the hands of unsophisticated riders. It is capable of inflicting a great deal of pain and, perhaps worse, if not used delicately will deaden and numb the mouth dreadfully.

The ultimate goal of academic riding is to be able to ride one-handed on the curb rein alone (see the Spanish Riding School, et al), which demonstrates the highest level of training and harmony between horse and rider. Somewhere between these comes advanced riding and GP dressage, with a whole universe of misinterpretation and variable levels of skill and knowledge floating around as well.

If your horse goes better in a pelham, is happy, responsive and obedient, then I would listen to your horse (and instructor, if that's working for you). How well do your detractor's horses go?
 
Agree with Cortez..I ride in a Pelham, and the amount of looks or comments I get is amazing, yet I watch others riding in a snaffle, constantly wiggling hands to ‘get the horse on the bit’...yanking in mouth etc..taught correctly, a Pelham is a great mouth piece in the right hands, I think a lot of riders forget that riding is with your body, your legs, your concentration, your core, not just your hands..as long as you feel you’re horses back lift and he can work from there, with a good instructor on the ground, there’s nothing wrong with it.
 
I don't think it is always ignorance, it can easily be a misunderstanding. Because I compete at dressage, while I can understand the rationale of using a pelham for schooling it's not something I would choose - my horses have to go in a snaffle until they reach a level where a double is permitted.
Therefore my thought processes tend to go towards schooling exercises in a snaffle rather than swapping bits to work on a problem. as a temporary measure it makes perfect sense; if you don't intend to compete under BD rules any time soon that also makes sense. I doubt I'm the only one who thinks like this, often if you read "schooling" in a post online it tends to refer to dressage schooling which in this country often tends to have competition-type aim.
 
Fashions eh? A Pelham used to be a perfectly acceptable bit to use in some situations and there was an expectation that the rider using one would have had a degree of education in using a bit properly and sympathetically. Things change and it seems that 'the latest' bit is always the best now even though traditional lorinery has been tested over time. Some horses still prefer the shape and action of a Pelham and go better in one. Anyone riding a horse should understand the action of any bridle on their horse and also what is a healthy way for a horse to move. After that it is easier to make informed and appropriate choices. A Pelham is fine if it works for you and your situation!
 
My experience of this type of comment has been from the truly ignorant and unpleasant. So that, no doubt, colours my view. They haven't been from people schooling their horses nicely in a snaffle put it that way! If someone who is schooling nicely in a snaffle for dressage comps has commented at all it has always been polite and enquiring rather than horrified. I don't mind talking about my bit choices but I don't enjoy being judged for them by people who yank their horses around with draw reins and their mouths strapped shut... as I say... Bad experiences and bitter much? Lol.
 
Cortez said:
People in this part of the world have been taught that snaffles are "kind" and anything with a curb action (i.e. a pelham) is a "harsh" bit. It's down to prejudice and ignorance and being uneducated in the basics of riding.

The snaffle is a rather blunt instrument, perhaps useful in the backing process for the most basic schooling, but very often abused in the hands of unsophisticated riders. It is capable of inflicting a great deal of pain and, perhaps worse, if not used delicately will deaden and numb the mouth dreadfully.

The ultimate goal of academic riding is to be able to ride one-handed on the curb rein alone (see the Spanish Riding School, et al), which demonstrates the highest level of training and harmony between horse and rider. Somewhere between these comes advanced riding and GP dressage, with a whole universe of misinterpretation and variable levels of skill and knowledge floating around as well.

If your horse goes better in a pelham, is happy, responsive and obedient, then I would listen to your horse (and instructor, if that's working for you). How well do your detractor's horses go?
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One of the people commenting competes at dressage, her horses goes nicely, my horse is a different kettle of fish, her build makes her by nature very powerful and not the easiest to school in the preferred outline. The aim is to have her schooling nicely in a snaffle, the aim of the pelham is to currently encourage her to relax her jaw work through correctly, hopefully then the pelham can be relegated just for fast work ie jumpng and XC.
 
I have found this too. I changed my big horse into a pelham after years of struggling. Its been amazing. I can now have a light contact, if he thinks about bogging off, I have him immediately. It has made everything so much nicer for both of us. I'm not hanging on, just in case he does something, and he is content knowing I'm in charge.

I don't see it as a forever thing, and for dressage I pop him back in his snaffle and we actually have a much more harmonious relationship.

And yet still I get sideways looks, and this is from people who have seen me dumped, bogged off with, ejected sideways and said they wouldn't ever get on him. And in the next breath they say how well he's going now (but they'd have him in a snaffle).

Can't win sometimes
 
Britestar said:
I have found this too. I changed my big horse into a pelham after years of struggling. Its been amazing. I can now have a light contact, if he thinks about bogging off, I have him immediately. It has made everything so much nicer for both of us. I'm not hanging on, just in case he does something, and he is content knowing I'm in charge.

I don't see it as a forever thing, and for dressage I pop him back in his snaffle and we actually have a much more harmonious relationship.

And yet still I get sideways looks, and this is from people who have seen me dumped, bogged off with, ejected sideways and said they wouldn't ever get on him. And in the next breath they say how well he's going now (but they'd have him in a snaffle).

Can't win sometimes
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My girl is only small but very well built stocky and powerful, it is a lovely feeling having her so light and responsive, i don't see it as a forever thing either, its a means to an end, and my instructor has said use it for schooling 3 times then go back to snaffle, then 2 sessions in the pelham and back to the snaffle etc. etc., i also know most people who look sideways at my girl wouldn't get on her either.

I just wish people could be pleased for you when something is actually going well, rather than seeing/hearing all about you struggle.
 
A few years back I used to do affiliated showing and working hunter classes , always in a Pelham/rugby pelham/ double bridle and we were kids/ teenagers. When doing faster work maybe get an elastic curb chain as if ur mare catches u out by wrong striding u can catch them by accident and put them off , happened to a mate of mine and she changed it and been happy ever since
 
Interesting how the views on snaffles are culturally dependent. Watching a horse being wrestled in a snaffle to get its' head down or hauled on with constant pressure to slow it down isn't pleasant. A touch on a curb rein sounds much kinder. With a bit of patient schooling they can be resensitised to lighter bit pressure pretty easily anyway, so it's not like they don't feel strong bit pressure even if they don't respond to it.
Cortez said:
People in this part of the world have been taught that snaffles are "kind" and anything with a curb action (i.e. a pelham) is a "harsh" bit. It's down to prejudice and ignorance and being uneducated in the basics of riding.

The snaffle is a rather blunt instrument, perhaps useful in the backing process for the most basic schooling, but very often abused in the hands of unsophisticated riders. It is capable of inflicting a great deal of pain and, perhaps worse, if not used delicately will deaden and numb the mouth dreadfully.

The ultimate goal of academic riding is to be able to ride one-handed on the curb rein alone (see the Spanish Riding School, et al), which demonstrates the highest level of training and harmony between horse and rider. Somewhere between these comes advanced riding and GP dressage, with a whole universe of misinterpretation and variable levels of skill and knowledge floating around as well.

If your horse goes better in a pelham, is happy, responsive and obedient, then I would listen to your horse (and instructor, if that's working for you). How well do your detractor's horses go?
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Funnily enough I was thinking about this the other day, and how ridiculous it is.

You wouldn't expect all children to learn using the same technique, so why do we expect horses to accept one thing and one thing only?

And why is the Snaffle the 'kind' bit? - like someone upthread said, I'd rather see a Gag or a Pelham being used lightly than someone having to haul on a Snaffle. There's so much confusion out there over bits - I'll often say to people 'What mouthpiece does it have?' and they'll say 'Oh it's a Snaffle!' - okay, but that's not the question...
 
Yep, this guy was the perfect gentleman on the flat in a french link snaffle. Doing well at affiliated elementary and schooling at medium.

9ACC68FE-6CE5-4AE2-B5C5-08EFC34AF71D.jpeg

But take him jumping, or on a fun ride, and the only way you’d ever be seen again was to put him in a Pelham with roundings and a single rein :eek:. He managed to win his only two RC ODE’s with a wimpy me on board kitted out like this.

9DEB138F-B2FF-41BE-A18F-2E47A9FEC83B.jpeg
 
The two opinions that carry most weight here are 1. your horse and 2. your instructor. these two plus yourself are the ones who know the whole story and why you are using a pelham. If it's working for you - everything else is just 'noise'.

I like pelhams, particularly for chunky native types who often go well in them. A saddler friend suggested that it was often because they had small mouths and the single mouthpiece fitted the mouth conformation - TB types with longer jaws not so much. Perhaps this theory is why some horse/rider combinations find them better than others.
 
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catkin said:
The two opinions that carry most weight here are 1. your horse and 2. your instructor. these two plus yourself are the ones who know the whole story and why you are using a pelham. If it's working for you - everything else is just 'noise'.

I like pelhams, particularly for chunky native types who often go well in them. A saddler friend suggested that it was often because they had small mouths and the single mouthpiece fitted the mouth conformation - TB types with longer jaws not so much. Perhaps this theory is why some horse/rider combinations find them better than others.
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she does have a small mouth 15hh and needs a 5.25 bit she seems so much more settled in her mouth
 
catkin said:
I like pelhams, particularly for chunky native types who often go well in them. A saddler friend suggested that it was often because they had small mouths and the single mouthpiece fitted the mouth conformation - TB types with longer jaws not so much. Perhaps this theory is why some horse/rider combinations find them better than others.
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Interesting. Back when the Ardennes was still being ridden I had him in a Pelham. To start with it was after brake failure on a hack but he was so much lighter and happier in it I kept it on him. He came with a french link which he never settled in.
 
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