Tara And Bella Go Bit-Less |~ Part 2

[@lisaupdawrally2732]

Tara repeatedly says she only uses her legs to direct all movement with 5:49 Bella and not the reins at all. I dont know how effectively Tara uses her legs but I do know as tightly as she pulls those reins on poor Bella's mouth and uses the reins for her own balance she certainly does not have any rein control.😮

[@isabelleprice9402]

Agreed. My instructor jumped on my horse & has identified she waits to be guided by the rein over the leg too much. Something we are now working on. Tricky as she's v reactive to the leg,but practise makes perfect.

[@liscloke1110]

This is wrong on every level. It’s making my skin crawl. Stop with the treats, poor filly has no idea so can never be blamed for any behaviour that Tara blames her for🤬 and it’s not the horse that is worried Tara, it’s YOU!!

[@AngelsWellnessJourneys]

OMG Bella is so skinny! She has no topline and looks like she may be developing a sway back. If I were Tara I would not be riding Bella at all until she had more weight on her and more muscle. But you can't tell Tara that.

[@marymacgregor6952]

Agree. Bella looks terrible compared to before.

[@valq7]

i have called her out before for not being a well enough rider to train young horses as she is super unbalanced and gives confusing cues.

[@LPSALFA]

The funny part is that Tara talks to Bella as if she were a person like... "you already know this come on" "walk on" "trot" I know horses can understand some words but it can be annoying sometimes

[@lisaupdawrally2732]

I agree 100%. She chatters continuously as she rides and I would think at this point poor Bella doesn't know what she wants most of the time. I've also noticed that when Tara asks Bella to whoa or walk she rarely does either and if she does it's literally seconds before she (Bella) decides what she will do next. 😱 Tara needs desperately to do some basic ground work with Bella for both of their safeties. But honestly she would rather gallop through the countryside with Bella letting her go at speeds that far outweigh Tara's ability to control- let alone stop Bella if she needed to. It's scary!!

[@liscloke1110]

@@LPSALFA words don’t really mean anything to a horse unless used as a cue to direct the horse. All this starts at ground work, like “walk on” with precise timing linked to your horse moving forward and woah at the very second you bring them to a halt. All this constant “good girl Bella” is just blah, blah , blah!! To Bella, (like tinnitus) Especially as both Tara and her hubby keep on repeating it, whatever Bella happens to be doing at any specific point. If Bella is showing discomfort, Tara is either telling the viewers how she is naughty, stubborn or misbehaving in some way while at the same time her husband can be heard saying “good girl Bella”if this pair were not so annoying it would be laughable, seriously. I often thought I was maybe being overly critical of Tara and her “sense of horsemanship” but seeing the comments of such knowledgeable horse people I feel justified to voice my concerns. Timing is key when training any animal, longer sentences have no purpose or meaning one or two word cues along with 2second release on positive response from your horse is all that horses need to learn and understand. I’m no expert, life is a learning curve but sadly Tara doesn’t need any positive advice, she is, according to her fans “an expert horsewoman who is gentle and kind when teaching Bella” how to do all this stuff. The expectations of Tara are unrealistic, this young filly is not yet ready age wise or body wise she needs to go back to basics and let Bella be a baby. Her weight issue is also concerning. She’s looking bum high to me, she’s still growing and maturing. Tara has been flooding Bella with a bit of dressage, jumping, flat work, out hacking on busy roads and now “bitless” none of these disciplines has seen a settled Bella. Could this amount of work hinder the horse’s ability to grow and mature body wise as she should? I may be wrong, please let me know. The beautiful Bella has captured my heart, seeing her being introduced to so much at such a young age is heartbreaking. I’m just waiting for a “Tara and Bella” video where Bella looks calm and relaxed…… I’m coming up to 64 yrs of age, I won’t be holding my breath!! My greatest hope for Bella is that Tara decides to sell her to a very good horseman who will be quietly kind and help redirect that beautiful filly into positive happy future, before Tara breaks her. Sorry about the rant😢💞

[@LPSALFA]

@ I'm gonna be honest I sometimes talk to the horses on my barn,it's a habit yes,but they don't understand,Bella needs to work her muscles,she is almost 6 years old and she is always uncomfortable,in my barn there is a 4 year old filly that is starting to jump and she is nothing like Bella,yes depends on the horse as well,Bella needs a professional to be trained because Tara doesn't know what she's doing,I think Tara wants Bella to be like Apollo but the big differece is Apollo was already trained when Tara bought him in Friesland,the funny part are the comments on Tara's channel always "positive" comments but when someone TRIES TO HELP TARA she delets the comment because "it's rude" or she answers like "Bella is fine" and bla bla,poor Bella

[@Sue-D1101]

@@LPSALFA I totally agree will all your comments and others in this thread. This poor horse rising 6 still can’t walk in a relaxed manner. I just can’t understand how this woman can fail to see how bad she is. There are so many really good instructors who have training videos on KZbin, Simon Grieve, Cameron Beer to name a couple. If Tara is happy to go to the Isle of Wight why on earth can she not source someone who knows what they are doing to help her in different parts of the country. These two people I have mentioned have fantastic facilities for lessons. But, we all know Tara’s arrogance stands in her way and her know it all attitude and her constant lack of accountability because it’s easier for her to blame poor Bella. I fear for this poor horses future with her.

[@LPSALFA]

@@Sue-D1101 She doesn't seek help because she's older and "has lot of experience with horses"

[@hollywill2226]

She’s ridiculous!!! I see red when I attempt to watch her vids.

[@Sue-D1101]

Me too, I can feel my blood pressure rising 😡

[@michellegreen6689]

Bella has lost a lot of weight. Poor Bella is going to end up so damaged and Tara does not know what she is doing. Poor Bella needs to go to a home that knows what they are doing with her

[@marymacgregor6952]

Yes she has. I think Tara rides her too much and asks for too much from this poor horse.

[@Shinyevonee]

Seeing Tara try to ride Bella with that halter is atrocious, and she absolutely should have gotten a properly fitted bitless bridle. It's possible to ride with a halter fine but Tara obviously doesn't know what the heck she's doing with how confused Bella is. Also, she is giving Bella the treats at the worst times. Giving horses treats during training is not bad and I follow a positive reinforcement horse trainer who uses treats named Shelby Dennis but like with any animal, you have to give treats when it's appropriate, especially with the points you mentioned. And once again, Bella looks way too skinny! She's under-muscled. I have seen very fit PRE horses through people like Matt Harnacke, but none of them look as skinny as Bella. That breed of horse develop muscles differently than some other breeds even with that fact that a lot of 2-3 year old PREs are HUGE but even the slimmest and fittest PRE has more meat than her. Tara needs to adjust her diet ASAP.

[@marymacgregor6952]

She wasn’t that thin a year ago. Too much strain. Riding her hard and too young.

[@pamelajacobson960]

This horse has been ruined by the constant feeding of treats. She is always looking for them and very impatient if she has to wait to get one, over and over

[@liscloke1110]

@LPSALPHA Oh my days, dare I admit it,…. I actually sing to my little herd 🙉 I have a specific song for each one😂. I think we all tell our babies how amazing and beautiful they are, I know I share my thoughts, worries and secrets with them.I tell them what I think we might do today they do understand the tone of my voice but as for what I’m actually saying, well that’s just nothing. Anything Bella will learn from Tara will be negative and damaging. She will sadly and unjustly be labelled as what we Welsh would say “a wrong un” Tara is failing to prepare Bella for a great future. I’m surprised she keeps putting these videos online, making a spectacle of herself and more damning telling anyone who watches her that every problem, (whichever horse she’s riding) is the horse that’s to blame! NO TARA, you are the problem you are to blame. Is it obvious that this woman drives me crazy🙈🙉🙊

[@suzanneyorkville]

thankfully she has the reins in a better position and she is helping Bella to understand the aids with this BUT it will not change the fact that Tara has no balance and she will hand onto the reins anyway. The halter is a think rope that puts a lot of pressure on the soft tissue of a horse's nose. I do think that Tara must be reading the peoples comments after her first bitless video when she had the reins attached under the chin. Let's hope she is eating a bit of humble pie and is starting to figure out she needs to be teachable. If only she'd get some lessons from someone who will really help her.

[@poniesatemypencils]

Is it just me or is Bella looking a little underweight? You can see little dip in her topline (around the hip/loin area) where it should be well rounded

[@Sue-D1101]

Weight and muscle.

[@debconway9766]

Yes she is. I always thought her Arab gelding was under weight as well.

[@PersonalTriumph2022]

@@debconway9766 he was. Compare the day he arrived at her farm to later years and there is a huge difference

[@Sue-D1101]

@@PersonalTriumph2022 She was a yearling when Tara got her she’s rising 6 now. Her breed as an Andalusian are strong and muscular. Poor Bella doesn’t appear to be anything like this at the moment.

[@isabelleprice9402]

She doesn't seem to grown v much. Bella gets so many mixed signals & has no idea what to do or correct

[@agatach87]

You should take a look at the comments in these videos, people are really clueless. I mean, it's not bad to not know something but if you get a new peace of equipment it's good to know at least the basics.

[@hollywill2226]

I was happy seeing people finally give helpful hints to this woman. Not that she’ll listen😢

[@PersonalTriumph2022]

@@hollywill2226 she won’t listen. This horse is literally trying to escape her and she has no clue ! Also there is something off about the legs on this horse, May be it’s just the breed

[@TeslaNick2]

@ Honest question (because I know nothing about horses), how do you know the horse is trying to escape her ? (I'm keen to learn).

[@PersonalTriumph2022]

@@TeslaNick2 if you look at the ridden video you can see the horse trying to rear, buck and bolt, basically doing everything it can to get away. She has been like this for a long time but when she is ridden with a bit (which I think she is using something with more leverage now) she has the bit in her mouth which stops her . She still attempts to bolt but has given up on the rearing and bucking part when she is ridden with a bit. This is all to say this horse has looked extremely uncomfortable since the beginning

[@TeslaNick2]

@@PersonalTriumph2022 Right. You're referring to other videos. I'll check it out. Thanks for the reply.

[@kathrynmurphy-ug5qf]

You have less than 3 seconds max, to reward, and sorry if your veiwers think i am mad, you DO NOT NEED any bridle bit or bitless to control or stop a horse

[@rorybooth4923]

I'd kind of like to call this the "Elimination, Lack of Education" approach to dog/horse training, after the mini-song number in "The Fox and the Hound"... It's when you act like you're an expert and such on animals when you know very little and risk getting injured or worse, killed. I know that movie was released over 40 years ago, in 1981 (I still don't know why it has song numbers, it would be better off without them to conserve atmosphere), but I do like the final moments and the message on the consequences of excessive hunting... "Put the gun down and listen to me. You are trying to shoot my childhood friend. He is making a living in this preserve with the love of his life. You enraged me into killing him, and he's lying there on the riverbank. I beg you, STOP." This line isn't in the actual movie, it's from Copper's perspective...

[@kathrynmurphy-ug5qf]

I teach head down AS YOU SAY, WITH TINY FINGER AND WEDDING FINGER, not finger and thumb as ITS SO SENSITIVE not you but for others, try it with little finger so much softer Sweeties when pinning ears wrong release, YOU OBSERVE SO MUCH XX And please stop patting horses, Not for you, FACT horses skin is less than half ours. Its painful, horses do NOT UNDERSTAND PATTING, people do it for themselves NOT THE HORSE. LOOK almost any video patting, HORSES HATE IT FACT, its like whipping wet neck of a human BIG SLAP try it, no wonder horses are in pain

[@TeslaNick2]

Have you seen any of Kayce Cover's stuff ? I've done her SATS courses and use SATS with dogs all the time but her speciality is horses. I'd be really interested to hear your opinion on some of Kayce's more "out there" stuff. Here's a good example: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bXSpaJqsiLKMjNUsi=SG3PRLwBUV_Yypzt

[@K9Tay]

Thanks for the suggestion, I'd be happy to take a look!

[@TeslaNick2]

@@K9Tay Kayce is an interesting character. She was an early pioneer of cooperative care and pretty much invented the idea of teaching dogs to self regulate through relaxation. Her influence is everywhere.

[@bevgrubel7503]

Treats are not good. Encourages disrespect. She has no idea and Bella is so thin and being ruined. Too late to try another method to train. Bella will get the blame again.

[@fleurtherabbit]

Treats are fine, as long as you use them right. I have used them plenty of times and know of other people doing the same and having no issues with it. It's just important to make sure you give them at appropriate times, and make it clear to the horse that begging for them gets him nowhere so you don’t get any unwanted behavior. And I don’t think it's never too late to try another method to train, whether Tara will try a different method is another thing.