can you mark threads with an “-NP” please in the title?Like we used to do with political posts?
Nice try at veiling another attack, will give you that COTH!
I haven’t read all of the other responses, but I’ll share that we do use a pelham bit in dressage training with our haflinger. It’s absolutely not for extra brakes (he’s rather poky, actually), but he is a former driving horse who is curb chain trained. The snaffle part of the pelham is the same KK nugget bit that he is shown in (as a plain snaffle, of course.) A touch on the curb rein reminds him to get his nose in, not brace, and carry his own heavy head himself. It’s been a helpful training tool. Our trainer (who spent some time in the UK under another dressage trainer) introduced us to this idea, and it’s been very helpful for him.
Caper, thank you for posting the FB post so the rest of us can know what it is the rest of the posters were posting about. 
I hope, when he competes her, he takes the judges’ advice and works improve himself and his horse. However, I foresee him saying that competitive dressage is just so wrong and distant from classical dressage that he will no longer be competing in the upper levels until the sport changes (after he scores a 52% at 3rd level).
I don’t really feel the same dislike for the guy that many people do, but it is entertaining (I don’t think he abuses his horses any more than other other beginners and recreational riders). He just shoots himself in the foot and creates all this drama by claiming to be a trainer, FEI rider and follower of classical riding. He obviously prefers the attention over working to improve him self and move up the levels in a traditional fashion.
I’m going to answer the actual question, shockingly.
I don’t see a lot of reason for it for an adult, but I have never owned or ridden a horse with a real bully neck. As a kid, my first horse used to take off bucking with me so I used a pelham for control. I wasn’t strong enough to pull hard on her mouth, and it just kept me safer. So in theory, I can see the safety factor. I just feel that if you are several levels in on a dressage horse, you no longer need it - and if you do, you aren’t at the level you think you are.
As one of the few male trainers in our area, my trainer gets a lot of problem horses in - which includes ones who pull HARD. Basically, getting the contact on the corners of their mouths and heads up instead of letting them have the head down and freight train charge into his hands does the majority of the work to solve the problem. He’s retrained multiple horses into horses his clients can enjoy and ride in a snaffle instead of a double.
THIS!!
[QUOTE=Dark horse17;8936662]
I haven’t read all of the other responses, but I’ll share that we do use a pelham bit in dressage training with our haflinger. It’s absolutely not for extra brakes (he’s rather poky, actually), but he is a former driving horse who is curb chain trained. The snaffle part of the pelham is the same KK nugget bit that he is shown in (as a plain snaffle, of course.) A touch on the curb rein reminds him to get his nose in, not brace, and carry his own heavy head himself. It’s been a helpful training tool. Our trainer (who spent some time in the UK under another dressage trainer) introduced us to this idea, and it’s been very helpful for him.[/QUOTE]
I used a Pelham on the Haflinger I used to have for the same reason. It was the only way I could get her to stop using her neck against me. I used separate reins, so I could drop the curb if I didn’t need it. Eventually, I could ride her in just a halter or snaffle.
[QUOTE=Dark horse17;8936662]
I haven’t read all of the other responses, but I’ll share that we do use a pelham bit in dressage training with our haflinger. It’s absolutely not for extra brakes (he’s rather poky, actually), but he is a former driving horse who is curb chain trained. The snaffle part of the pelham is the same KK nugget bit that he is shown in (as a plain snaffle, of course.) A touch on the curb rein reminds him to get his nose in, not brace, and carry his own heavy head himself. It’s been a helpful training tool. Our trainer (who spent some time in the UK under another dressage trainer) introduced us to this idea, and it’s been very helpful for him.[/QUOTE]
That’s interesting. So it sounds like in this situation it is appropriate based off of previous, specialized training that the horse has received? But this example probably isn’t applicable to the general horse population. I’ve never ridden a Halfie, but I know several people who own or ride them, and I can’t help but think it must be awfully hard to get them out of “carriage horse” mode and sitting on their hind ends.
Sounds like the issue isn’t the bit so much as the trainer/rider. Also sounds like he is oversharing on FB, to say the least. One of the ways professionals (in any field) keep a good profile is by being discrete about when they mess up.
I don’t have a problem with a pelham being used in capable hands on an otherwise good horse that gets strong. I do have a problem with a rider going to a leverage bit as a bypass of correct riding. I think it would be best to figure out why the horse dumped the rider in the first place before bitting up.
SendenHorse: if it were marked “NP” as you suggest, would you be able to resist opening the thread?
And here I was hoping for a substantial discussion. Thanks to the posters who stuck to the question.
To those with driving horses when I ride my driving pony I ride him in a baucher. He seems to love this bit. He does try to root from time to time and speed up. Nothing nasty just a bit uneducated and out of shape.
I suggested a mullen mouth because it also has a curb chain. When my son was riding a PSG school master this bit mimicked the double when he wasn’t ready yet to work in a double. The horse respected this bit. The coach evaluated him over a few lessons and then he graduated to the double.
A mullen mouth doesn’t have a curb chain. http://www.dressageextensions.com/loose-ring-mullen-mouth/p/1025/?zmam=56693488&zmas=1&zmac=1&zmap=0001025C261561025&gclid=CNK-jKqWrdACFUg2gQoddOkPXQ
This thread is a disservice to the cause of making NP, whomever he is, look like a fool because he sounds pretty reasonable in comparison to far too many posts. Keep in mind the cut and pasted post is all I know about him.
If he is so bad, and I have no doubt he is given the vitriol here, surely he is doing some really substantively objectionable things that you’d do a lot better to focus on. Putting some potential brakes on a horse that bolted and bucked you ofd the last time you rode it shows some capacity for rational thought by this alleged nincompoop.
[QUOTE=Joanne;8937713]
SendenHorse: if it were marked “NP” as you suggest, would you be able to resist opening the thread?[/QUOTE]
it was very misleading.
Since you guys were warned by mods to not post about him and have every thread locked it seems this is not a topic to bring up again?
The actual topic of a pelham is valuable. this posting about NP is not to me. I wouldn’t have opened it.
As much as you guys are obsessed with him, we aren’t, and what he does isn’t a concern. Its not a board member here asking for legitimate help.
Anyways, back to topic-
I personally have not seen a pelham promote dressage contact, so this use of it is very interesting. I have retrained horses that go in this bit and it was very challenging. yes, they went in mullen mouths first to rehab.
That is what the bit looked like but if memory services me I thought there was a curb chain too. Could she have customized it?
[QUOTE=caper;8938190]
That is what the bit looked like but if memory services me I thought there was a curb chain too. Could she have custoomized it?[/QUOTE]
I can’t quite picture this, a curb chain is used with leverage bits. I suppose you could have a shanked mullen, since the mouth style is independent of what makes it a leverage bit? [URL=“http://sustainabledressage.net/tack/bridle.php”]
[URL=“http://sustainabledressage.net/tack/bridle.php”]
[URL=“http://sustainabledressage.net/tack/bridle.php”]http://sustainabledressage.net/tack/bridle.php
Thanks for that website. Very informative.
happy to help!
One of my acquaintances puts a leather curb strap on her snaffle bit, but no curb strap on her western curb, at least when she has little kids ride her horses. She does mostly ground work, and when she’s in the saddle, it’s western. Yes, I know :).
The curb with no strap is obviously silly, but it did occur to me that the strap on the snaffle might stabilize the bit a little bit, if that was an issue. I also wondered if it was something western trainers might do?
As evidence that the snaffle with curb chain is out there to some extent, this link which was just the first hit I pulled off Google.
http://cha-ahse.org/store/pages/188/SNAFFLE.html
I can’t see the point for myself, as I want the snaffle to be mobile, and I wouldn’t be riding a horse where the bit was regularly being pulled through the horse’s mouth. Even if I was starting a colt, I’d want to make sure that wasn’t happening.
