When burnout was at its worst, I couldn’t switch my mind off.
The to-do lists never ended. The responsibilities followed me home. Rest felt impossible because there was always something else that needed doing.
But every afternoon, I’d walk into the paddock.
The horses didn’t care about deadlines.
They didn’t care about emails, expectations, or the pressure I’d put on myself.
They only cared about what was happening in that moment.
If I was distracted, they knew.
If I was stressed, they felt it.
If I was present, they responded.
Without realising it, they were teaching me something I’d forgotten: how to slow down.
For an hour, sometimes only minutes, my attention shifted from everything that was wrong to what was right in front of me.
A warm muzzle.
A quiet breath.
The sound of hooves moving through grass.
The horses weren’t fixing my burnout.
But they were giving me small moments of peace while I learned to fix it myself.
RJ3 Sport Horses 
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