The carrot or the stick: applying learning theory to horse riding

Equestrianism is under ever-increasing public scrutiny and all horse owners, trainers and riders should be looking to ensure they are training horses ethically, putting the horse’s welfare at the centre of what they are asking them to do. This can be achieved by using evidence-based principles and training practices that align with what is known about how horses learn – known within animal training circles as learning theory.

In the final Welfare Wednesday Webinar of our winter series, our charity will be exploring how learning theory can be applied to riding horses with experienced equine behaviourist and trainer, Trudi Dempsey.

Trudi will explain some of the key terms relating to how horses learn, including how we can effectively use negative reinforcement (release of pressure) during ridden training but also how we can incorporate positive reinforcement (providing a food reward) into our ridden training and the benefits of doing so. Trudi will be accompanied by fellow equine behaviourist Justine Harrison to answer the audience’s questions in a live Q&A.

Those interested in joining the live event on Wednesday 26 March at 7pm can register for free.

We have an extensive Welfare Wednesday Webinar library which covers over 65 horse health, welfare and behaviour topics. They can be accessed for free and on demand via our website and Education YouTube channel.