Are Pelham Bits Frowned Upon in the Hunter Ring?
Featured Image Credit: Tricia Booker Photography

Rubber jointed pelham
Video Recommendations:
Bits and Bitting
Bernie Traurig
Bernie shares his personal insights on bits and bitting. His philosophy has been gained through decades of experience with thousands of horses.
Running Time: 31 minutes and 6 seconds
Bernie’s Big Bag of Bits
Bernie Traurig
Does the sheer volume and variety of bits adorning tack shop walls today overwhelm you? Would you like to have a bit selection guideline that follows classical principals with your horse’s comfort at the forefront? If you answered yes to either of these questions, Bernie has pared down a list of his favorite go-to bits that will simplify and positively influence your bitting choices. As a clinician, Bernie travels around the country and abroad literally lugging around a bag of bits. Extra baggage fees aside, he finds that having his favorite bits at hand, ringside to be invaluable. Time and again he has come to believe that experimentation is key as long as you are listening to your horse’s sometimes subtle, sometimes obvious acceptance of and/or objection to the mouthpiece.
Running Time: 6 minutes and 46 seconds
Introducing Your Horse to the Hard Rubber Pelham
Bernie Traurig
Finding the right bit takes experimentation and the ability to read your horse’s reactions. For some horses, the pelham can prove to be the ideal show bit, while other horses are quick to communicate their displeasure with it. Follow Bernie through the steps of familiarizing a horse with a hard rubber pelham for the first time.
Running Time: 13 minutes and 17 seconds
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I had a judge tell me that even though I had a great round she could not pin my horse because a running martigale is considered “unconventional tack”
Thanks for you question. I believe in hunter classes running martingale’s are not allowed but standing martingale’s are. Was it hunter or jumper class?