"The Pelham Bit" Accessed November 15, 2008 Because it has a bit shank and can exert curb-style pressure on the horse, it is considered a curb bit.Colnar, Rebecca. "Hot topic, hot solution - Curb Bits." Accessed November 15, 2008 Like all curb bits, a pelham bit has a mouthpiece, shanks with both purchase and lever arms, a ring for rein attachment at the bottom of the shank, and a curb chain.
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Uses: This is one of the most common mouthpieces found on a snaffle, and is popular for all equestrian sports. Cautions: Curb bits with a single joint are often called cowboy snaffle, Argentine snaffle, or Tom Thumb snaffle. However, these bits all are actually curb bits because they have shanks and operate with leverage. Thus, when the reins are pulled, the horse is subjected both to the nutcracker action of the jointed mouthpiece and the leverage of the curb, which also causes the jointed bit to rotate and press into the tongue.
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Though most curb bits have a solid mouthpiece, with or without a port, any bit with shanks and leverage is always a "curb" type bit, even if has a jointed mouthpiece. Shanked bits in the curb family include the Weymouth, which is the curb portion of the double bridle; the pelham bit, a single bit ridden with two sets of reins; and the single-reined curb bit.
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The bit used is a snaffle bit. Curb bits, having bit shanks of any kind are dangerous; the line can tangle in them, causing injury to the horse's mouth. When longed off a bridle, the reins are kept out of the way, either by removing them, or by twisting them once or twice over the neck and then running the throatlatch of the bridle under the reins before buckling it. The correct method is to run the longe line through the inside bit ring, over the poll, and attach it to the outside bit ring.
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Title-page, 1626. The piaffe between the pillars (below) Pluvinel is perhaps most well known for his kind, humane training methods. Unlike his Italian teacher Pignatelli, who often used harsh methods to gain obedience from the horse, Pluvinel used praise, careful use of aids, and softer bits (simple curb bits) to get the horse to work with him. He is also credited with the use of the pillars (wrongly, for La Noue also has record of using them, as does the Greek Eumenes), and he used them extensively in his training of collection and levade.
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But like a snaffle bit, a pelham bit also has a bit ring on either side of the mouthpiece. Like some curb bits, a pelham bit usually has "loose" shanks - hinged at the mouthpiece in the same way that the rings of a snaffle bit are hinged. When two sets of reins are used, the snaffle rein generally is wider, to help distinguish it from the curb. A "cowboy pelham" is a western style of loose- jawed curb bit with additional rings at the mouthpiece allowing a second set of reins to be added.
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Curb bits can also be purchased with a variety of jointed mouthpieces that are sometimes mistakenly called "snaffles", some of which (like the twisted wire) can further increase severity. Jointed mouthpieces increase the pressure on the bars due to the nutcracker action of the mouthpiece. In addition, the joint angle is altered by the shank leverage to tip the bit downward and into the tongue. These bits, sometimes called "cowboy snaffles" due to their popularity among western riders, are actually more harsh than a curb with a simple, solid, ported mouthpiece.
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A shield azure hangs on the sinister shoulder of the knight with a double cross/two-barred cross or (gold) on it. The horse saddle, straps, and belts are azure. The hilt of the sword and the fastening of the sheath, the stirrups, the curb bits of the bridle, the horseshoes, as well as the decoration of the harness, are or (gold). The blazon is the following: Gules, a knight armed cap-à-pie mounted on a horse salient argent, brandishing a sword proper and maintaining a shield azure charged with a cross of Lorraine Or.
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A Western style curb bit with leather curb strap An English style Weymouth curb A curb bit is a type of bit used for riding horses that uses lever action. It includes the pelham bit and the Weymouth curb along with the traditional "curb bit" used mainly by Western riders. Kimblewicks or "Kimberwickes" are modified curb bits, and a curb bit is used in a double bridle along with a bradoon. A curb bit is, in general, more severe than a basic snaffle bit, although there are several factors that are involved in determining a bit's severity.
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Like the pelham and curb bits in general, the Kimblewick has bit shanks with purchase arms. However, unlike these other bits, its shanks have no lever arm. Due to the purchase arm and geometry of the rings, the rings may function as very short lever arms and create a small amount of leverage, which puts this type of bit into the pelham or curb bit "family". The curb function varies with the style of bit: slotted Kimblewicks provide the option of more curb action, whereas unslotted Kimblewicks are very close in function to the Baucher bit, which most users regard as a snaffle bit, and to the pelham bit when the snaffle rein is used.
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A western style curb bit. Bits that have shanks coming off the bit mouthpiece to create leverage that applies pressure to the poll, chin groove and mouth of the horse are in the category of curb bits. Most curb bit mouthpieces are solid without joints, ranging from a straight bar with a slight arch, called a "mullen" mouthpiece, through a "ported" bit that is slightly arched in the middle to provide tongue relief, to the full spade bit of the Vaquero style of western riding which combines both a straight bar and a very high "spoon" or "spade" extension that contacts the roof of the mouth. The length of the shank determines the degree of leverage put on the horse's head and mouth.
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Shanked curb bits are used in western riding for nearly all adult horses, and are seen in English riding disciplines primarily as part of the double bridle used by advanced dressage riders, and on the hybrid pelham bit that includes a ring for a second rein attached at the bit mouthpiece. Direct pressure snaffle bits have no shanks, instead they have a single bit ring. Bits that have shanks coming off the mouthpiece create leverage and place pressure on the poll via the crownpiece of the bridle, to the chin groove via the curb chain, and, especially with a "loose jaw" shank, may also touch the sides of the mouth and jaw. The shank and its leverage action is what defines a curb bit as a curb, regardless of mouthpiece.
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