Leather Mouth Pelham Short Curb with Aurion Lozenge

Suitable for horses that:

• Need more than a snaffle but are sensitive about metal

• Come high in the neck and become unsteady

• Come above the bit in downward transitions

• Are new to a curb bit

How it works

Mouthpiece.14mm finished, double jointed, with curved cannons angled forward to follow the shape of the tongue. The lozenge lies flat on the tongue rather than standing upright between tongue and palate, so tongue pressure is spread across the width of the tongue. There is no nutcracker action and nothing reaches the palate.

Cheek piece.A short shank engages quickly and remains forgiving if the rein is held rather than given, which makes it the one to start with. The arms above and below the mouthpiece are close to equal, so poll pressure is loaded as much as bar pressure and the horse is asked to drop and settle rather than draw the nose in. Ridden on the top rein it acts as a fixed cheek snaffle; on the bottom rein the curb chain enters the curb groove, poll pressure is applied and the horse comes into an outline. Pairing a curb with a leather mouthpiece keeps the mouth side of the action soft while the poll and curb do the work.

8249

Material. The cannons are 12mm stainless steel bars wrapped in bark tanned leather to a finished 14mm. Leather carries no metal taste and does not draw heat from the mouth, so there is no cold metal contact at the start of work. Saliva softens the covering until it takes the shape of that individual mouth and holds it, and the surface gives slightly under load, spreading the bearing wider than bare steel of the same diameter. The stainless core keeps the geometry and the strength unchanged, so nothing is given up for the softness. The leather is hand stitched with the seam running along the front of the mouthpiece, away from the tongue, and tapered down to a smooth finish where it meets the joints. Colour comes from vegetable oil and deepens with use. The centre lozenge is Aurion, a high copper concentrated alloy, which adds a taste stimulus that leather alone does not give. Curb chain supplied.

Fit closely, with the lip gently brushing the cheek. Leather does not slide across the lips the way polished steel does, so do not fit tight. Adjust the curb chain so it engages as the shank reaches approximately 45 degrees, and check it is lying flat before every ride.

Size and fit

4.5"

5"

5.5"

115 mm

125 mm

140 mm

Mouthpiece

14 mm

14 mm

14 mm

Core

12 mm

12 mm

12 mm

Cheek

110 mm

110 mm

110 mm

Wipe dry after every use. Treat with a food safe oil if the leather dries out. Do not soak, do not store wet, and do not leave the bit on a horse standing or travelling in the bridle. The covering moulds to one mouth, so keep the bit to one horse.