Korsteel Jointed Pelham
This is pelham horse bit made from stainless steel with a single jointed mouthpiece.
Price: £29.99
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.
Single Jointed Bits:
The single joint puts pressure on the sides of the tongue, on the lips and on the bars due to the nutcracker action. The single jointed bits tend to have a head raising action so would be less suitable for animals with a high head carriage. Also they are not so suitable for horses with particularly large tongues because they have less room in the mouth for a single jointed bit as this pushes the bit nearer the roof of the mouth, also Arabs and alike may have a low palate, with both of these examples the nutcracker action may cause brushing of the roof of the mouth.
