About us

A 20-acre farm born from grief, guided by intuition, and grown into a place of healing, connection, and community — grown from one woman's willingness to follow a tug toward something she couldn't see.

THE STORY OF THE FARM

It Started With a Letter
and a Leap of Faith

In 2013, Stacey Bean was a single mother rebuilding her life after the sudden, devastating loss of her husband Darren — a med-flight physician who died in a helicopter crash the night before Mother's Day, leaving behind two young children and a wife who described herself, simply, as hopeless.

Healing came slowly, and unexpectedly — through horses. After a family camp trip reignited her childhood love of riding, Stacey bought her first horse, and then another, and then land. She found herself sitting in pastures watching her herd, feeling a peace she hadn't known in years. It was there, among the horses, that she began to understand that her next chapter was taking shape — even if she couldn't yet see it clearly.

When she spotted a vacant 20-acre property that had been sitting empty for years and felt inexplicably drawn to it, she discovered it wasn't listed for sale. So she did something brave: she wrote the owner a letter. She shared her vision — horses, her children, nature, connection, healing — and made an offer.

A week later, she received an email back. The owner hadn't planned to sell. But they had considered her request — and yes.

After the sale, several people stopped by and told Stacey they had been waiting for the property to come on the market. It became one of the most important lessons she would go on to share with her children and her clients: it never hurts to ask for what you want.

The answer is always 'no' if you don't ask. She asked.

"I didn't have a clear vision of what this would all become — but I felt a tug and followed my intuition. It was like the yellow brick road. My vision and dreams kept building and manifesting. The healing energy on this farm is palpable."

— Stacey Bean, Founder

A LESSON FROM THE FARM

"It never hurts to ask for what you want."

The farm wasn't for sale. Stacey asked anyway. This has since become a guiding principle she teaches her children, her clients, and anyone willing to listen.

WHAT THE FARM BECAME

First, It Healed Her.
Then It Opened Its Gates.

The farm healed Stacey. It gave her children roots, responsibility, and a connection to nature and horses that shaped who they would become. It gave her a new life's purpose — and eventually, it gave her love again, when her boyfriend Brian became part of the story.

She built her dream home on the property and now lives there surrounded by her animals, the land, and the community that has grown up around this place. What started as one woman's path back to herself became a haven for others on their own healing journeys.

The programs she offers today - from the CLTS-certified Equine Assisted Learning program to the WiSE Women's Circles and farm retreats - all grow from the same root: the belief that healing happens in relationship, in nature, and in community,

"The land, the farm animals, the connections, the friends and clients — it is truly about community and love."

WHAT HAPPENS HERE

Programs Rooted in the Healing Power of This Place

Every program offered at Indigo Trails Farm grew organically from the same belief — that horses, nature, and community have a profound capacity to help people heal, grow, and come home to themselves.

CLTS CERTIFIED

Equine Assisted Learning

Helping children ages 8–18 — including those with special needs and autism — build confidence, communication, and life skills through guided interactions with horses and art therapy.

SUMMER 2026

Wild Hearts Art Camp

A 4-day summer camp for children ages 8–13 where creativity meets the barn — guided art sessions with award-winning educator Lois Feiner alongside hands-on horse time.

SUNDAY MORNINGS

Yoga in the Barn

A grounding yoga practice in the stunning upper loft of the old red barn, surrounded by the sights and sounds of the farm. Flow and Yin classes alternating weekly, May–September.

MONTHLY • MAY-OCTOBER

WISE Women's Circles

A monthly gathering for women navigating midlife — using the Equine Gestalt Coaching Method with horses to move through what's holding them back and rediscover who they are.

AUGUST 2026

Walk Your Path Retreat

A 1-day immersive retreat of yoga, equine gestalt, breathwork, and farm-to-table nourishment. The perfect introduction to retreat life at Indigo Trails Farm.

FULL MOON • SEPTEMBER 2026

Harvest Moon,

Harvest Self Retreat

A 3-day fall weekend retreat under the full moon — movement, horses, fire ceremonies, journaling, and farm-to-table meals. A complete immersion in healing and community.

Stacey Bean

FOUNDER · INDIGO TRAILS FARM

Stacey Bean is a functional medicine practitioner, gestaltist, speaker, and the founder of Indigo Trails Farm. With over 30 years in health and wellness, she holds an MD from the University of Vermont College of Medicine and an MS in Exercise Physiology from UC Berkeley. After losing her husband in a tragic accident, she left western medicine and found her way back to life — and to her life's purpose — through horses.

Certified in the Equine Gestalt Coaching Method and Advanced Gestalt Coaching, she now partners with horses to empower individuals to heal their hearts, bodies, and minds. She specializes in perimenopause, metabolic health, women's empowerment, and the intersection of grief, healing, and growth.

MD · Univ. of Vermont | MS · UC Berkeley | Equine Gestalt Coach | CLTS Provider | Functional Medicine

THE FOUNDER'S STORY

From Hopeless to Hopeful

Stacey's journey to founding Indigo Trails Farm is one of the most powerful things about this place — because it means she understands, deeply and personally, what it means to need healing.

She lost her husband Darren — also a physician, her partner in every sense — suddenly and without warning. She describes what followed as surviving, not living. But horses, as they often do, found a way in. Her horse Cowboy stood with her through her grief in a way no person could, and something cracked open.

That moment — being touched by a horse — became the seed of everything Indigo Trails Farm is today. The programs, the farm, the community: all of it grew from one woman's willingness to follow her intuition toward healing, even when she couldn't see where it was leading.

  • MD — University of Vermont College of Medicine

  • MS in Exercise Physiology — UC Berkeley

  • Dual certification — Equine Gestalt Coaching Method & Advanced Gestalt Coaching, Touched by a Horse

  • Certified CLTS Provider — Wisconsin

  • Certifications — Women's Hormone & Gut Health, Institute of Integrative Nutrition

COME FIND YOUR PLACE HERE

The Farm Is Waiting
for You

Whether you're bringing your child to their first horse experience, seeking healing and community as a woman, practicing yoga in a barn on Sunday mornings, or simply feeling a tug toward this place — trust it. Stacey did. And it changed everything.