The Mindful Dressage Rider

23/06/2025

We are still looking to grow our team at Indigo Trails Farm! If you are curious about the job, or want to learn more — don’t hesitate to reach out.

We’re Hiring Weekend Barn Help!

Do you love being around horses and enjoy starting your mornings with purpose? Indigo Trails Farm is looking for dependable and experienced help for Saturday and Sunday morning chores.

✨ Tasks include:
Feeding hay and grain, watering, mucking stalls and paddocks, applying fly gear or blankets, and keeping the barn tidy. Occasional farm maintenance may also be required.

🕒 Flexible start time – anytime before 7:30 AM
🐴 Must be confident and experienced around horses
🧹 Independent role for someone reliable and detail-oriented
📍Located near Madison, WI
📌 Position available now!

📩 Apply here: https://forms.gle/YMTZEod33KAgHqso7

Join a team that truly cares about horses and the people who support them.

17/06/2025

We’re so excited to welcome Tara Davis back to the farm for another inspiring clinic weekend—July 25-27th!

If you’ve been wanting to learn more about biomechanics, balanced movement, and how to develop a more connected partnership with your horse, auditing this clinic is an amazing opportunity to soak it all in.

Rider spots are full, but auditor registration is open and we’d love to have you join us!

📩 Register https://forms.gle/p1KmLicNzVf3ZQkP9 to reserve your spot.

07/06/2025

RARE OPPORTUNITY to Join Us at Indigo Trails Farm with Caitlyn Bean Dressage

✨ Limited stalls available starting July 1st ✨

Indigo Trails Farm is a private, detail-focused facility just outside Madison, WI, offering exceptional care, individualized training, and thoughtful rehabilitation. Whether you're looking for support in developing your horse through the levels or you're navigating recovery from injury or unexplained lameness—this may be the fit you’ve been looking for.

🏡 Indigo Trails Farm offers:
~ Beautiful indoor arena with Reiten Right footing, mirrors & curtains
~ Indoor Lounge / Viewing Room
~ Outdoor arena with arbor and viewing area
~ 12x14 Comfort Mattress stalls
~ High-quality grass/alfalfa mix hay
~ Nutrition program curated by Dr. Martha M. Faraday, PhD, with a focus on gut health and anti-inflammatory support
~ Hot/cold indoor wash bay + 3 outdoor wash racks
~ Solo turnout available for rehab or special cases
~ Tracks, dry lots, and pasture—customized to your horse’s needs
~ Supportive, welcoming barn community

🐴 Caitlyn Bean Dressage offers:
~ FEI training & rehabilitation packages (limited availability)
~ A whole-horse approach to wellness, development, and soundness
~ Collaboration with a top-tier team of professionals
~ A focus on developing physically and emotionally balanced horses

✨ This is a case-by-case opportunity to join our program, and we’re looking for partnerships that align with the values we hold for our horses, clients, and community.

If you’re interested in learning more, let’s connect. Message Caitlyn Bean at 608-512-7468 to see if we’re the right fit.
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29/05/2025

I used to believe that my training and program was putting the horse first - and in some ways, I wasn't wrong...
However, these past few years have been a constant learning curve of what horse-first actually looks like. I still have a lot to learn, and the horses continue to teach me. I will always and forever be evolving for the betterment of the horse

So these are a few of the qualities that I believe are what a training program that is truly putting the horse first would embody:

1) Supporting & guiding the horse over force & excessive pressure

2) Treat the horse as a beautifully unique individual

3) Focus on emotional regulation and support a healthy nervous system

4) Progress is paced by the horse's physical and mental willingness

5) Prioritize posture, balance, and biomechanics for longevity & soundness

Without these key pieces, we can prioritize the horses mental, emotional, and physical well being LONG TERM which is key!!

28/05/2025

We often say the same things in this industry – connection, softness, putting the horse first – but what it looks like in practice can be worlds apart.

Especially as my approach to training has shifted, I’ve realized how easy it is to believe we’re supporting the horse, without actually seeing the stress, or the discomfort in their mind or body.

4 years ago, I would tell you that I was doing it ‘right’. That all the other crazy trainers doing something different were ‘wrong.’ But the more I learned to see, like really see, the horses in front of me, the harder it became to continue training the way I used to.

The truth is, we all see horses through the lens of our own lived experiences. Our beliefs, past trainers, even emotional wounds shape how we interpret behavior. I’ve missed things in the past, things that I just wasn’t ready to see yet.

And I am still learning. We all are…

You can’t blame someone for not seeing what they don’t yet know to look for. I truly believe we hear things when we’re ready to hear them.

I am incredibly grateful for the professionals around me who lovingly, but firmly, pointed out when something wasn’t working. Those hard conversations were seeds that grew into a more aligned, ethical way of doing this work.

So if this resonates.. Maybe you’re on this path too.
We can still love the sport.
We can still strive for excellence.
But we can also grow, learn to listen to our horses, and show up better for our horses & ourselves, every single day.

27/05/2025

Yes, yes, & YES! 👏👏👏

I tend to find that horses develop injuries because they are doing too much for their current physical development.

And so I find that for many horses in rehab, it's not about adding more exercises to do -

It's about doing less, and being observant with it.

Especially when there are behavioural considerations as well as physical.

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An exercise for you -

(And this should be done with your horse's perception in mind, not your perception - no matter how easy you think an exercise should be)

On a map of your horse's environment*, plot the following:

1. Green zones - areas where your horse is reliably relaxed/happy with exception to the occasional horse-appropriate response e.g. spooking when a bird flaps out of a tree.

2. Amber zones - your horse is mostly relaxed/happy with occasional stressful events

3. Red zones - your horse spends more time stressed than relaxed.

*Environment can be any area you take your horse in to, e.g. the field, the stable yard, hacking trails etc.

Next up think of all the things you do with your horse, all the behaviours** they can perform and plot the following:

1. Green behaviours - your horse seems happy, willing and confident to perform the behaviour with a light cue, in good posture if movement related.

Note that obedience does not equal happiness, neither do forward facing ears, so look for other metrics that your horse is content.

2. Amber behaviours - your horse is mostly happy to perform these behaviours but occasionally you find they don't want to or disengage after a couple of attempts. Their posture is mostly good, but they may fatigue quickly.

3. Red behaviours - your horse is not happy when performing the behaviour or will refuse when asked and/or will perform in poor posture.

**Behaviour can be anything from putting a headcollar on/picking feet out/tacking up to complicated dressage moves.

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Now time to reflect:

How often does your horse spend time in the green zones?

How often do they spend time in the red or amber zones?

What can you do to help your horse spend more time in the green zones?

Can we introduce new behaviours in environments that your horse finds safe?

Can we introduce new environments whilst your horse is performing easy behaviours so they have a context they understand?

Can we reward each try?

Can we stop asking the horse to do things before they fatigue/lose quality/throw the towel in?

For me, this is the rinse and repeat of rehab - it's incredibly boring, so very repeatable and yet thats the secret sauce that no one talks about -

Do the same stuff, over and over and over and over... until it sticks.

And don't confuse obedience for happiness or good posture.

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"Should I be riding my horse right now?"

Join Integrative Equine Podiatrist, Beccy Smith, and I as we discuss this topic through a variety of lenses: combining evidence-informed practice and research to give you practical skills to assess your own horse's wellbeing so you can answer the question for yourself.

30.06.2025 19:00 BST

Recording available if you can't make the live ❤️✨️

📸 playing with Cat by Olivia Rose Photography

27/05/2025

If you find yourself trying to balance connection, biomechanics, lightness, performance, and partnership all at once—same. 🫶

No two horses are the same. And neither are their people. That’s why training, care, and competition goals all need to be approached with intention, curiosity, and compassion.

This community is for the ones who do ride for the connection… and also love the thrill of a show ring. For the ones who geek out on posture and know that every small moment on the ground matters too.

💬 Tap through and tell us: what matters most to YOU in training? How do you balance this all with your horse?

25/05/2025

A few spots left at 20% off!!

If you are looking for someone to look over you & your horse, your goals in training (short & long term), the whole horse foundation-- including routine, environment, nutrition, hoof health, their posture and more...

Then, this is your chance to do that, and do it at a discount!

**This is for all disciplines, the foundation of a sound horse in mind and body is all the same, although I am focused in Dressage for training and technique, adjusting the foundation is the same for all horses.

Comment "REVIEW" or message me to snag your spot before they fill.

I can't wait to support you and your horse on your journey towards your goals!

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