Korsteel Hard Rubber Mullen Mouth Pelham
Pelham horse bit with a hard rubber mullen mouthpiece.
Price: £28.99
How a Pelham bit works:
The Pelham provides a somewhat muted effect of the bradoon/Weymouth combination. With curb rein the rider is able to lower the head and this is useful when schooling and encouraging proper head carriage. Activating the curb rein puts pressure on the bars of the mouth, chin, poll and if there is a port, the roof of the mouth.
With the snaffle rein the rider is able to lift the horse's head. As will all English snaffles the pressure will be on the bars of the mouth. For general riding, the rider would be most likely to ride on the snaffle rein, using only the curb rein when necessary. This requires steady knowledgeable hands.
Sometimes, if a horse is a hard puller, the curb and snaffle rings will be connected by a leather roundings so that only one rein is connected to the centre of the roundings. These activate both snaffle and curb actions of the pelham. When using two reins the rider can position the horse's head.
Mullen Mouthpiece:
The Mullen mouth is a very mild bit, it is an unvarying mouthpiece which means the pressure on the mouth doesn't change very much, as it is a fixed mouthpiece. The bit puts pressure on the tongue and lips, it does use slight pressure on the bars depending on the size of your horses tongue.
This bit is very useful for those horses who have a very soft mouth and don't like complicated mouthpieces, it may also be useful for horses who back off the contact and need that extra bit of confidence in the bit.
This mouthpiece would not be suitable if your horse leans on the bit or if they tend to take hold of the bit, also may not be suitable for the breeds with larger tongues as they may find this uncomfortable. An alternative for the horses with larger tongues may be the Cambridge (ported) mouth bits, which have that little extra tongue room or a double jointed bit, which follows the curvature of the tongue.