UNDERSTAND BITLESS HORSE RIDING AND TRAINING
Understand Horses presents a webinar with equine trainer and behaviour consultant Trudi Dempsey on riding and training using bitless bridles.
A link to the recording of this webinar will be shared to registered users the day after the live event. The recording will be available for 3 days.
TUESDAY 1 JULY 2025 | 7PM BST
£15 | 1.5 HOURS
Presenter
Trudi Dempsey
HOST
Samantha Couper
UNDERSTAND BITLESS HORSE RIDING AND TRAINING
Bitless bridles offer an alternative way to communicate with horses. They can be used with precision and softness when paired with thoughtful training. In this webinar, Trudi will explore some bitless bridle designs and look at how they can be used to deliver clear cues.
It’s not simply a matter of removing one piece of equipment and replacing it with another. Successful bitless riding depends on carefully introducing new cues and ensuring the horse fully understands what’s being asked. Whether you’re starting rein cues from scratch or adapting existing ones, bitless options can support lightness, clarity, and connection in your training.
We will look at:
Some different bitless bridles and how they were designed to work
How bitless bridles can be used to deliver clear cues
Matching bitless options to your horse’s needs and your goals
Teaching and transferring rein cues for precise communication
Common mistakes and practical tips when transitioning horses to bitless
This webinar is aimed at horse owners, trainers, students, and equine professionals.
After the presentation, Trudi will answer questions.
MEET THE PRESENTER
TRUDI DEMPSEY
Trudi is a Certified Equine Behaviour Consultant with the IAABC and a member of their Application Review Committee. She is also an Accredited Animal Behaviourist with the ABTC offering in-person and online consultations. Trudi has been offering her own unique blend of classical dressage and positive reinforcement since the ’90s. She specialises in developing behaviour change by creating low stress learning environments. Trudi presents clinics, talks, and workshops in person throughout the UK and webinars and courses online around the world. She contributes to Your Horse magazine and the peer reviewed IAABC Journal. She hosts the behaviour and training podcast ‘Lead a Horse to Water’.
On-Demand Courses:
AN INTRODUCTION TO TRAINING HORSES WITH FOOD
HOW TO CREATE A SUCCESSFUL TRAINING PLAN
Instructor-Led Courses:
HORSE TRAINER FOUNDATION CERTIFICATE
UNDERSTAND CLICKER TRAINING FOR HORSES
Webinars:
EQUINE BEHAVIOURIST OR TRAINER?
MEET THE HOST
SAMANTHA COUPER
Sam has been cataloguing and recording observations of feral horses since 2018. She is board chair of the Onaqui Catalogue Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to compiling observations on the Onaqui wild horses using citizen science. In particular, she is passionate about breaking down barriers surrounding scientific observation and interpretation for both professionals and laymen. To bring wild horses to the public, she teaches a course on wild horse behaviour at the University of Utah (USA). In particular, she is interested in how management, climate, and predation histories interact to affect horse heterarchies and band formation strategies. Sam is a member of IAABC and is working towards becoming a full time equine behaviour consultant, where she plans to integrate feral horse research and personal observations to aid owners with removed feral horses adapting to domestic settings.
On-Demand Course:
BEST FRIENDS? AFFILIATIVE BEHAVIOURS IN WILD HORSES
Webinar:
INTERPRETING WILD HORSE BEHAVIOUR
(with Lucy Rees)
LIVE WEBINAR
A link to the recording of this webinar will be shared to registered users the day after the live event. The recording will be available for 3 days.
ARCHIVED RECORDING
A separate archived version will be available afterwards. Archived webinars are available to access on-demand at any time and view for up to 60 days