Biographical Information
Photos
|
|
|
Biographical Information |
Photos
|
Diana Thompson teaches horse owners
how to understand and train their horses. Her innovative approach
includes massage and acupressure, movement improvement exercises,
saddle fitting and many gentle, effective training methods. She
also uses movement education to help horseback riders improve
their riding skills. Diana's services include private consultations
and lessons, multi-day intensive training programs and club or
event demonstrations.
During her Hands-On programs, Diana shows how to give the horse gentle training cues his mind/body system can easily understand. This helps the horse relax and use more of his athletic ability. Since these methods involve softening the body and opening up the horses' ability to learn, they are effective for any breed of horse taking part in any riding or driving discipline.
Diana also educates horse owners through writing and photography.
In 1996 she founded The Whole Horse Journal - A Guide to Natural
Horse Care and Training. During The Journal's first three years,
Diana served as Editor-In-Chief, guiding the publication to eight
national media awards and an international readership. Her articles
on massage and alternative training have also appeared in Horse
and Rider Magazine, the American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC)
Endurance News, The Anvil Magazine and RIDE! Magazine.
BACKGROUND
A horse owner since the age of seven, Diana's first professional
horse experience came during high school. She handled foals, started
young horses, and showed and managed a breeding stallion for a
Palomino quarter horse ranch. She also managed a boarding stable
during college before taking a break from horses to finish her
degree in journalism.
Her college credentials quickly brought her back to the horse
world as she joined EQUUS Magazine as a staff writer soon after
graduation. This position enabled her to interview some of the
top equine veterinarians and research professionals in the nation.
In 1980 Diana opened Winter Creek Farm near Newport, Oregon. Diana ran a full care boarding business, started young horses under saddle, schooled English and Western show horses and conditioned race prospects. She integrated heart rate monitors and other sportsmedicine practices into her conditioning programs and became a licensed exercise rider on Oregon and California race tracks.
In 1983 Diana received relief from her chronic back stiffness and pain through lessons in The Feldenkrais Method. Her success with this work on her own body came at a time when she was questioning conventional horse handling and training methods. As a result, she sought out education in equine anatomy, movement, alternative health care and training methods. Today, this extensive education and over 25 years of practical experience training horses gives Diana a wealth of knowledge to pass on to her students. (See "Acknowledgements" for a listing of her education in massage and other holistic health care methods).
As Diana's education progressed, one of the horses she rehabilitated was the stakes-placed Thoroughbred Timothy's Hope. Timothy was barred from tracks in Canada and the United States for refusing to break from the starting gate. He was terrified of gates of all kinds and was unable to be on the race track without tying up (muscle cramping), refusing to work or eat. Diana used massage, natural health care and reconditioning to return Timothy to racing form. He clocked "black type" works (the fastest time of the day) from the starting gate in 1987.
Diana was featured in a September, 1987, EQUUS Magazine case history article and August, 1989, EQUUS Followups for another horse rehabilitation case. She led efforts to save and heal Cimarron, a Thoroughbred stallion who was partially paralyzed in a trailer accident.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Diana has worked in the equine alternative health care and training
field for over 17 years. Her goal is always to find or create
practical horse training and wellness methods which horse owners
can use themselves. As with any multi-disciplinary approach, input
from many teachers has influenced Diana's development as a holistic
practitioner. The following list includes some of these individuals
both to recognize their contribution and to give the reader valuable
resources.
Diana's initial horse body work education was with Linda
Tellington-Jones, founder of TTEAM (Tellington-Jones Equine
Awareness Method). Tellington-Jones studied with the late Dr.
Moshe Feldenkrais and adapted for horses many of the processes
Feldenkrais developed to change painful or restricted human movement
patterns.
Diana's years of study with Tellington-Jones included a two-week
trip to Moscow, USSR, to teach Russian veterinarians, Olympic
riders and trainers. Diana became the second student in the United
States to gain full certification as a teacher of the TEAM method
in 1985. Diana's work with top performance horses, however, led
her to look for additional training tools. She left the TEAM organization
in late 1985 and no longer maintains current teacher status.
Dr. Bob Anderson, DVM, is an equine veterinarian trained in acupuncture, chiropractic care and homeopathy. He helped Diana heal impaired horses and enhance top performers. Based in Dallas, Oregon, Dr. Anderson served as secretary of the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society (IVAS) and president of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association (AHVMA).
Dr. Stephen Blake, DVM, of San Diego, California, specializes in the use of veterinary homeopathy, acupuncture, chiropractic care and Bach Flower essences. Diana attended Dr. Blake's classes in the use of homeopathy and Bach Flower therapy for animals.
The late Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais was a pioneer in the field of human movement education and founder of The Feldenkrais Method taught worldwide. Diana undertook intensive Feldenkrais education for rehabilitation from injuries she received in a car accident in 1987. She also completed two of four professional training programs (approximately five hundred hours) required by the Feldenkrais Guild to become a practitioner for humans.
In 1992, Diana completed the course required by the State of California to become a Certified Human Massage Practitioner. Blending this knowledge of human massage and acupressure with the Feldenkrais movement education methods, Diana has developed movement improvement workshops for horseback riders.
Zahourek Systems of Loveland, Colorado, offers in-depth courses in horse anatomy and movement. Diana has completed three of their week-long "Equiken" programs -- a total of 130 classroom hours. This understanding of equine muscular and skeletal systems adds to her skill in analyzing horse movement problems.
Diana is currently studying Traditional Chinese Medicine
with an emphasis on the use of Chinese herbs and acupressure to
build health in horses.
Her teachers are Dr. Bill Fannin, Dipl. Ac. and Sean
Fannin, OBT, Herbalist, of The Center For Traditional Health
Arts, in Petaluma, California.
Diana has also taken intensive training in equine acupressure
with equine veterinarian Dr. Peggy Fleming of Dade City,
Florida. Dr. Fleming is an instructor for the International Veterinary
Acupuncture Society (IVAS) acupuncture certification program for
veterinarians.
Harry Whitney is a clinician from Kansas who uses nonviolent training methods to help a horse become a willing, athletic riding partner. Harry's knowledge of horse body language, herd behavior, ground work, round pen and riding exercises is extensive. Diana has studied with Harry since 1996. She incorporates many of the principles he teaches in her work. She has also written five extensive articles with Harry for The Whole Horse Journal on his training approach.
