Dorato Performance Horses

Dorato Performance Horses Horse riding coach. I help equestrians move WITH the horse for safety and partnership.

Learn: https://doratoperformancehorses.com/
Book a call: https://calendly.com/teresa-doratoperformancehorses/strategy-session-for-equestrians

08/31/2026

The world fights agression with anger. Horses teach us to solve anger with boundaries and compassion.

What else have horses taught you?

08/31/2026

Common riding problem - using the leg causes the knees to squeeze and raise and the toes to go down.

When I see this happening, I ask the rider to squeeze my fingers with the lower leg muscles that should be activating. It often takes a minute for the rider to let the old muscles go and find a way to activate new muscles.

To build new patterns, we need to practice in between rides. This is a great little exercise to help activate the lower leg while standing.

Following up on our "teaching" post this week.....do we give students time to FAIL?Students need time to experiment. Lea...
08/30/2026

Following up on our "teaching" post this week.....do we give students time to FAIL?

Students need time to experiment. Learning what feel "isn't" is just as important as learning what feel is. We can easily start this from the ground with a horse in- hand. How does our position and posture change the outcome? Go from one extreme to the other with experiments like human walking stride (shuffling to long and powerful), energy levels (1-10), hand position (forward and up or down and "dangling"), etc.

We can discuss the results in relation to mounted work, provide opportunities to "fail', and protect our horses. We DON'T need to allow failure that hurts the horses with yanking, large kicking, etc.

Failure is learning. Yes, with kids and thousand pound animals we need to bubble wrap a little (and maybe have a couple good ponies), but when we build a culture of groundwork we can create a learning environment where failure is simply part of the process.

What good riders know: emotions happen. It's our responsibility to direct them. It's been a long day. Your check engine ...
08/28/2026

What good riders know: emotions happen. It's our responsibility to direct them.

It's been a long day. Your check engine light came on, the weather sucks, you have a project deadline and have barely slept. All you want is a relaxing ride to take you out of it.

And then something goes wrong. A barn mate asks an "annoying" question, your horse won't stand in the cross ties, very quickly frustration wells up and compounds the stress you already carried.

Your horse is circling at the mounting block and you are struggling to get on. The horse is off balance and you have to work harder. Now this is no fun and turning into a deep training session.

But, who actually needs the training in that moment? The horse is simply reflecting your mental and emotional state.

Horses are not recreational equipment, it is not the responsibility of an animal to save you from stress. It is your responsibility to ensure you are in an emotional state to be trustworthy and steady for the horse. What often happens is we haven't regulated our frustration, so the first sign of something going wrong directs all of our emotion at the horse who is simply being a horse. Emotion, even "negative ones" are normal and ok. But when we direct the emotions at someone or something as the cause, we lose ourselves.

Horsemanship is defined by the moment where we choose the good of the horse over self - and that includes letting emotions be, instead of directing them at an external outlet....often the horse we claim to love.

UNPOPULAR OPINION You are a teacher. It doesn't matter how many years you have been instructing, how much expertise you ...
08/27/2026

UNPOPULAR OPINION

You are a teacher. It doesn't matter how many years you have been instructing, how much expertise you hold, if something doesn't work for a student it is not their job to adapt to your teaching, it is yours to adapt to them.

If they don't hear what you said, find a position and tone that works better for them.

If they don't get it the first time, be patient and support.

If they don't get it after 5 times, adapt.

If something is constantly a struggle, find new supports.

On the flip side, hard conversations are necessary. What work do clients need to do between lessons for success - coordination, strength, breathing, etc? What observation skills need to be heightened? What life skills need to be practiced? Is a horse pairing not a good fit even if the rider loves that horse? Is a rider's action dangerous?

Pairing adaptation with straightforward conversation is how to be a COACH.

For too long the industry has blamed the riders when they can't follow a direction. Yes, being coachable is an important skill. But, we need to TEACH people how to be coachable. How do you adapt when a rider is struggling?

Everyone manages things differently. We prefer a more "natural" esthetic because:1. We can choose adventure and blaze tr...
08/26/2026

Everyone manages things differently. We prefer a more "natural" esthetic because:

1. We can choose adventure and blaze trails instead of perfectly manicured spaces
2. We are a big fan of nature and like pollination
3. We would rather put the time into what really matters - horses, clients, and our community - instead of trying to look perfect
4. Frankly, we have 3 kids and do all the work here ourselves 🤣🤣🤣

What is something you "gave up on" out of sheer time management or change in understanding?

"Choose your own adventure" trails will be a part of this week's lessons! Stay tuned to instagram for those videos. 😊

I love collaborating with other professionals and had a wonderful day with Laura Lee Parker! Laura did a positive reinfo...
08/25/2026

I love collaborating with other professionals and had a wonderful day with Laura Lee Parker! Laura did a positive reinforcement session with Fiona and it was lovely to see this mistrustful mare become comfortable with a "stranger" handling her legs (iykyk), a big thanks to Laura for working with her. If you are looking for a trainer, drop her a line! 😊

When you provide safety for a horse, they provide safety for other horses. Maggie has been with me for 4 years. She has ...
08/25/2026

When you provide safety for a horse, they provide safety for other horses.

Maggie has been with me for 4 years. She has taught me how to observe, how to adapt, and how to listen to the horse. She has become a confident leader for both horses and riders.

When Fiona came out of quarantine, Maggie was the first to greet her in the field. They promptly laid down together and slept.

Fiona has grown so much in confidence, in large part thanks to Maggie. When Fiona took her first trip to Frying Pan, she handled it well, but was understandably a little nervous. Maggie saw. Maggie's rider knows the connection between the two so when Maggie started to walk toward Fiona at the mounting block, we agreed to let it happen.

Maggie laid her head against Fiona's. Fiona settled and was simply a rockstar.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a more touching horse moment. As my journey has changed from competition to welfare the incredible depth of horses continues to amaze me.

Thank you to Caroline for capturing this moment! 💕

Morning turnout for the ponies. 💕One of the hardest projects moving to this farm was designing fencing. At the old farm ...
08/24/2026

Morning turnout for the ponies. 💕

One of the hardest projects moving to this farm was designing fencing. At the old farm the fencing just made sense, we had great dry lots, clear turnout, etc. Here there were 20 unfenced acres to figure out and fencing to repair on the other 20. We wanted clearer separation from geldings and mares because we have former broodmares and former studs. It is still very much a work in progress, with fields "drawn" with t posts and electrical tape, but I think we are settling in on the final fencing plans.

One of those long term plans is a track system. That will take some time. For now, the ponies have a small dry lot and turn out in the grass ring with muzzles in the mornings. We attempted to turn out with the big herd before breakfast, but after a week of that Pippi beat up Pearl so....

One of the best discoveries for arena time is using a large feed pan for water. This can hold 3 gallons and for tiny ponies in the dewy arena it is more than enough for a few hours (they rarely touch it). The width of this pan is much better than a 5 gallon bucket and allows them access without muzzles getting in the way.

How do you manage ponies and horses who need protection from high sugar?

Address

5636 Keyser Road
Hume, VA
22639

Telephone

+15407170121

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Dorato Performance Horses posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Dorato Performance Horses:

Shortcuts

Share

Category