Dorato Performance Horses

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

Diana is here to tell you that Things Aren't So Spooky With A Solid Foundation 🤣🤣🤣So get here November 1st to learn how ...
10/23/2026

Diana is here to tell you that Things Aren't So Spooky With A Solid Foundation 🤣🤣🤣

So get here November 1st to learn how you, too, can ride a horse chasing a 7 year old wearing bed sheets.....I mean ghosts.....

Registration link in the comments.

We make teaching so much more complicated than it needs to be. We just need a better system educating the educators (I k...
10/23/2026

We make teaching so much more complicated than it needs to be.

We just need a better system educating the educators (I know, I know, easier said than done...)

Here are a few ways we used tactile input for better teaching this week:

- Ankle weight on the wrist for awareness of hand movement
- Mini rollers under shoulders for increased rib mobility
- Textured ball tapping to connect brain and arms for gentle steering
- Orange ball tapping for leg awareness (this kiddo requested this before mounting)
- Mini roller above the boot to "roll" the leg long for correct leg aids

Instead of talking at students, create ways to feel it.

When kids get ahold of the photo booth props and a very tolerant pony....🤣
10/22/2026

When kids get ahold of the photo booth props and a very tolerant pony....🤣

How a horse goes from spooky to confidentAnd why it can be hard to explain. Because I don't have a big budget for horses...
10/22/2026

How a horse goes from spooky to confident

And why it can be hard to explain.

Because I don't have a big budget for horses we often get free ones who need a home, retraining, and lots of time. Some of these horses were incredibly spooky and now tote around kiddos as amazing babysitters. When we do our groundwork and nervous system regulation, for both horse and human, the biggest thing I catch myself saying is "this horse used to be incredibly spooky and this is how we fixed it."

But the "this" is hard to define. It is more of a list:

- good nutrition
- daily, consistent handling (*by the same person for months until solid)
- hoof care
- awareness of fear and acknowledgement by the handler
- bodywork
- finding things the horse enjoys and building that together
- breathing exercises
- clear questions and responses in the groundwork
- teaching to yield
- regulation around food
- balance and postural work
- building curiosity and play
- patterns and pole work

And so much more. But, I don't mention desensitizing. Why? Because instead of trying to get the horse to simply cope with scary things, we are looking for the horse to be an active participant in new situations. Instead of shutting down we want to horse to engage with the environment. That is why it is a list instead of one thing. A healthy, balanced, regulated horse can stay in the moment instead of seeking a way to "remove" her brain from what is scary. It is so important to remember that flight is the horse's way of survival. They need to know they have the strength and balance to get away if they need to. An imbalanced, weak horse tends to be more spooky. Once the horse is healthy, we have to offer a better solution, a way to think through a problem and trust humans, for them to stay instead of flee.

Consistency and relationship-building lead to safety.

Pictured is Brooke and her young rider. Brooke was one of the spookiest horses we have had come in and now one of my best lesson horses. She has done everything from teaching working equitation to taking juniors fox hunting.

"Spooky" is not personality trait, it is a cry for help.

Interested in learning more? Join us for our Things Aren't So Spooky With A Solid Foundation clinic on Sunday, November 1st!

The young pony mares are two peas in a pod. They bestied so hard they needed matching muzzles to help with the Fall gras...
10/21/2026

The young pony mares are two peas in a pod. They bestied so hard they needed matching muzzles to help with the Fall grass.

Something I have learned as a professional is to withold judgement. Am I great at it? No, I'm still working on being ope...
10/21/2026

Something I have learned as a professional is to withold judgement.

Am I great at it? No, I'm still working on being open to seeing and accepting new things and letting go of past notions. But, it is a standard I try to hold myself to. Every person I meet is on a journey and a single impression is not their whole story.

Think about how much you can change in a year. It is dependent on your individual commitment to growth, but there is so much potential. The person you were 10 years ago is not who you are today.

Of course, that can go both ways, instead of growing for 10 years, we can see decay, especially in horse professionals. This is often tied to the stress created from not valuing our own time and worth and living on razor thing margins. But, generally, I see amazing people growing and changing and trying to improve.

As young professionals we walk the road mentors started us down. As we age, we learn what our core values are and become confident in our "self" and create a philosophy of horsemanship and teaching that is our own. Yet, people don't let go of the former self we were to see who we are today. We want to hold people in a box so we can be better than them. And in an industry where every dollar counts it "helps" our business when we hold tight to old impressions.

I've caught myself pondering this one as I re-meet people I haven't seen in a while and coach myself to be in the moment and see the good they are searching for. In an industry as difficult as ours it is tempting to take one moment in time to write someone off - one picture, one comment, one not great decision. I look back on my own pictures and see how much I have come and am grateful for the journey of growth that allows me to relate humbly with my students.

Perhaps, instead of criticism based in fear, we try to learn from one another so we can all grow?

I recognize this is my glass half full perspective and that there are people who need to be held accountable for abuses and need to be removed from the industry. But, that is not the norm. Most professionals truly do love horses and want to grow for their sake. So creating a culture of collaboration will only benefit the animals we love so dearly.

If you re-met a professional you haven't seen in 10 yeats, what is an area you have grown in that you wish others could see?

Can your horse go around wearing oversized glasses, approaching a skeleton, while a tent flaps in the breeze dead ahead?...
10/20/2026

Can your horse go around wearing oversized glasses, approaching a skeleton, while a tent flaps in the breeze dead ahead?

If that would set you, or your horse into a fright, come to Things Aren't So Spooky With A Solid Foundation.

YOU DO NOT NEED YOUR OWN HORSE FOR LEVEL 1!

When: Sunday November 1, 10 AM to 4 PM
Where: Hume, VA
What: Build strong foundations in training and nervous system regulation to apply on our obstacle course
Why: So you can confidently lead yourself and your horse through stressful situations

Level 1 utlizes our lesson horses to focus on the principles of training needed for a horse to be ready for spooky situations. We also practice techniques to regulate the nervous system of both horses and humans for when a ghost rabbit one day crosses your path.

Level 2 is for applying these techniques with your horse!

Please note, FB doesn't allow us to post direct links anymore. For full information and to register, please go to the event page or copy and past the registration link in the comments.

Our Ba****ck Breakfast was blustery and cold and I'm so impressed by what these riders did. The point of our breakfast i...
10/20/2026

Our Ba****ck Breakfast was blustery and cold and I'm so impressed by what these riders did. The point of our breakfast is to build community, awareness of our bodies, and silent communication with the horse. Often simplicity, in breathing, in noticing, in waiting, brings the greatest results. My goal is simply to guide discovery that riders can replicate long after we are done.

The horses told the story of the progress of each rider - Maggie becoming square as Cathy found more space between pelvis and sternum, Brooke "going zen" as Becky found her right side release, and Chappy abducting his left hind as Caitlyn discovered softness.

Despite the biting wind and frolicking friends, these horses didn't bat an eye at the legitimately scary things in the world around. When we regulate our nervous system, we offer the horses the ability to regulate theirs.

We will be hosting another Ba****ck Breakfast soon. Would love to have you join us!

I can confirm it was, indeed, this cold. Time to look at real estate in Florida. 🤣🤣🤣
10/19/2026

I can confirm it was, indeed, this cold. Time to look at real estate in Florida. 🤣🤣🤣

Address

5636 Keyser Road
Hume, VA
22639

Telephone

+15407170121

Website

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