Diana Thompson

A horse owner since the age of seven, Diana Thompson's first experience as a paid equine professional 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.

In 1980 Diana opened a full care boarding and training facility where she started young horses under saddle, schooled and showed English and Western pleasure 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 personally received relief from chronic back stiffness and pain through lessons in The Feldenkrais Method, a method of human movement education. 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 has spent the last 17 years seeking out education in equine anatomy, movement, alternative health care and training methods. She completed two of the four professional training programs required to become a Feldenkrais practitioner for humans and is a certified human massage practitioner. She has also studied with many of the leaders in both the human and equine alternative health care fields. 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.

While Diana is based in Santa Rosa, California, she currently teaches her Hands-On Horse Care (TM) classes throughout the United States. Her innovative approach includes equine massage and acupressure, movement improvement exercises, flower essence therapy and homeopathy, saddle fitting and many gentle, effective horse handling and 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.

Diana also educates horse enthusiasts through writing and photography. Soon after graduating with honors from Oregon State Univerity, she earned a job with EQUUS Magazine as a staff writer. This position enabled her to interview some of the top equine veterinarians and research professionals in the nation.