The Bridle Path · Support Beyond the Gate
Because nobody should
have to choose between
safety and their horse.
Specialist domestic abuse and sexual violence awareness, information and support routes for rural, farming and equestrian communities.
In immediate danger? Call 999. National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808 2000 247 (free, 24 hours)
Here now: information, specialist signposting, training, research and partnership work. Direct advocacy and recovery programmes are in development.
Find support
Information, safe ways to get in touch and established specialist services.
For professionalsSee the whole picture
Training that understands how animals, land and rural life can shape risk.
For organisationsBuild this with us
Bring your expertise, reach or resources to our work beyond the gate.
Abuse can hide behind stable doors and farm gates.
A horse may depend on you. Your home may be tied to the farm. Your work, transport, money and relationships may all be bound up in the same place.
Isolation
Distance, limited transport and a community where everyone knows everyone can make it difficult to ask for help.
Animals
Horses, pets and livestock can be threatened, harmed or withheld as a way of keeping control.
Land and livelihood
Tied housing, family businesses and shared finances can make leaving feel impossible.
Later life and family
The person causing harm may be a partner, an ex-partner or another family member, including an adult child.
Understanding rural domestic abuse · Animals and coercive control
Support that understands the life around you.
Your animals, home, livelihood and community are part of the safety picture.
The Bridle Path Initiative CIC brings lived experience and professional knowledge to domestic abuse and sexual violence in rural, farming and equestrian communities.
A vet, a farrier, a GP, a neighbour and a police officer may each notice something different. Our work helps people understand how those pieces can fit together, and why the circumstances around a survivor matter.
We provide information and specialist signposting, professional training, research and partnership work. We are carefully developing Support Beyond the Gate, a specialist advocacy pathway shaped around rural and equestrian lives.
Hearing people earlier.
Understanding the whole picture.
Our partnership brings together lived experience of domestic abuse, rural and equestrian knowledge, investigative expertise and the voices of bereaved families.
Founded by retired Detective Sergeant James Brannigan, The Katie Trust supports families left with unanswered questions after a loved one's death or disappearance. Together, we are developing professional learning to help police and safeguarding professionals recognise warning signs, connect information and respond earlier.
Practical work now. A stronger response for the future.
Information and signposting
A first enquiry, information that reflects rural life, and help identifying established specialist services.
Find supportProfessional training
Awareness sessions, briefings and professional development for people who may notice the first signs.
Explore trainingResearch and resources
Building the evidence, sharing professional learning and making useful information easier to find.
Explore our resourcesIn development: the Support Beyond the Gate advocacy pathway and Reclaiming My Path recovery programme. Direct casework, crisis response, counselling and accommodation are not currently available.
Meet Kirsty Judd.
Founder. Rural woman. Survivor.
I grew up on a family farm, and horses have been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I am a qualified IDVA, ISVA and OPVA, and a survivor of domestic abuse.
I founded The Bridle Path because people living with abuse deserve to be understood in the fullness of their lives, including the animals, home, work and community around them.
“I wanted to build something that understood the whole rural life around a survivor.”
Your organisation could help someone find a way forward.
Host training. Share information. Support rural outreach. Help build the evidence. There are practical ways to make a difference in the communities you already reach.
Information people can take away.
Our delegate packs, awareness posters, leaflets and cards are available to download. Consider where someone could read or collect information privately and safely.