Hackett Equine

10/07/2025

Seems a lot of women are in the same boat as me. Anxious, full of cortisol, waking up in the morning feeling like we have been zapped by lightening. I posted some stories a few weeks ago feeling utterly rubbish, exhausted from feeling really anxious on and off for the last year and I have been inundated with not only kind messages, but it seems I am very much not alone.
I spoke about feeling that my anxiety is driven by my hormones, and the number of me too messages have been overwhelming. So many of us are in this situation it would seem, which makes me sad cause did our ancestors struggle with their hormones? Did they wake up in their yurts freaking out that something is wrong, when nothing was?
Maybe I’m being jovial in the face of something actually very serious but was it like that? I think a big part of what I’m going through is driven by the endless treadmill that our society creates, work, more work, money and work, no rest and feeling bad for resting and then the media and social media fuelling it all, creating a cycle of endless pressure. Comparison and endless stimulation pouring petrol on the fire created in our brains and bodies. The result…? Well I feel like I’m the result, burnt out, sudden crash of anxiety that just doesn’t seem to leave. I am suffering with ruminating thoughts and I think from the long term stress my hormones are really affected. I shared today that I’m going to try something called a Dutch test, it looks at your hormones and cortisol. I then will have a functional doctor/hormone specialist look at it all. I hope I’ll be able to continue to share what I find. But please know if you are reading this you are not alone. So many women are waking up feeling exactly the same. We can get back to feeling ok again, I believe that wholeheartedly.
Im feeling much better as I write this day 20 of my cycle, so I know I can feel joy and freedom again and I believe that you can too. I’ll keep you all posted and here are some of the resources/ humans I have found helpful over the last year.



📸 ❤️

02/07/2025

Welcome to The Hackett Equine Academy 🐴⬇️

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01/06/2025

There is art in slowing down, joy in noticing small things too. I didn’t used to do either, I rushed from a to be left to right up to down without a single pause. I’m still suffering with the consequences of a life lived at 100mph. I wake up like there is a lion in the room, and my brain runs away with my thoughts a lot of the time. I’m working on these things, but my whole life I have built what I know so it’s not as simple as just changing something. We are habitual creatures, we settle into what we know, our body enjoys that, even if the habits don’t serve us.
Intrusive thoughts and internal unhelpful imagined stories have been a source of constant turmoil for me all my life, I can’t do that, i can’t do this, what if I feel anxious, what if I lose control and end up being sick. More personal things too but Instagram isn’t the place for that. Life as a sensitive person isn’t always easy, maybe it’s a super power in some ways but it’s certainly a tricky path to walk as well. I read this book this weekend, ‘don’t believe everything you think’ and they talk about how thought isn’t the trouble it’s thinking, ruminating on the thoughts, we have up to 60,000 thoughts per day, sitting with every single one isn’t possible. Some will come and go, fleeting, transient and then some will stick and then when they are difficult thoughts that’s when I start to believe them. I’m using the mantra ‘it’s not the thoughts it’s the thinking’ to try and break this cycle I’m stuck in and so far, I’m finding it to be really helping me stay present to let the thoughts come and go like waves. If you are stuck in a cycle of over thinking I would highly recommend this book. It’s not very long it’s really easy to follow.
Some moments of joy I have noticed recently. Nice to look back despite the hard days and anxiety to remember that there was and always will be so much joy to experience.

23/05/2025

I am often asked how you guys can support what I do and make sure Blondie Zora and Didi get everything they need😂… one of the ways is through my online shop (linked in my bio). I sell a few different tried and tested products, for both you and your horse. From hoodies to halters and flags to caps, I have both the training equipment your horse needs and the uniform you need to be part of the team. I have also been working on a very special product that is coming soon! Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter through my website to be the first to know! ✉️

09/02/2025

This is a really beautiful trend I saw on another app, you write about what it would be like to have coffee with your younger self. I try and sit with my younger self often. Give her space and support that I didn’t feel I had at the time when I check in with her. I try and be the adult for her that she needed in those moments and that brings me peace, even more so when I can be that adult for young people around me. We can’t change what happened to us when we were younger, but we can shift some perspective of the experiences we had. Acknowledge how hard things were and how they made us who we are today. Even if you don’t feel like sharing your coffee moment it’s a nice thing to do to sit and write about yourself back then and how you are now. See the growth, the love the journey. ✨

29/01/2025

So we created a podcast, Rhi and I, This Equestrian Life it’s called. a space for open honest bold discussion. An opportunity to shed light on hard things, to laugh at the good times and sometimes the bad. To share stories and create space for others to do the same.
Over the last two weeks I have really enjoyed sitting down with Rhi and opening some conversations we feel are important and hopefully valuable to today’s equestrian community.
We come from similar situations in some ways, non traditional, not horsey families. Both with a burning desire to be have horses as part of our lives but having to find our way to them in different ways. Rhi inspires me with her dedication and determination to making her way to horse ownership having established her corporate career first. A pathway I thought I might end up on myself when I was young. Have a proper job to pay for the horses was the goal, but dyslexia and trouble writing essays paved the way for a very different path. So here we are, Rhi and I, two different perspectives opening conversation in many different directions. We have discussed winter survival, goal setting and how to achieve them. The importance and value of a hot chocolate on a hard day. And that was just the first episode. You can listen to episode 2 right now, an insight into our take on difficult yard situations, our mental health challenges and a good amount in between.
I hope you will give it a listen and let us know what you think. It took us a long time to get this project off the ground, perfectionism, being time poor, and various other issues but we managed and I’m really glad we did. I hope you enjoy joining us as we share This Equestrian Life and all it entails
Available on all podcast platforms.
So grateful to this episodes sponsor calming cookies. Use code equestrianlife20

22/01/2025

OUR PODCAST HAS LAUNCHED 🥳

Over a year in the making (the longest tease in history?!) we are so excited to share with you episode 1 of This Equestrian Life - available now in all your favourite podcast places and via the link on our profiles

We have always had long conversations on drives that spanned so many things, from how we keep our horses, to changes in the industry and everything in between. We don’t always agree, we love to discuss and perhaps most importantly, we love to have a laugh along the way.

We are excited to have you join us in these conversations, beginning with an episode dedicated to surviving winter.

Series 1 will be available every Wednesday and we can’t wait to hear your feedback. Be sure to tag us in your stories!

Huge thanks to and the wonderful calming cookies for sponsoring this episode. Use code equestrianlife20 to shop their range of supplements.

At this point we have to mention our incredible producer without Amy this podcast would not have made it to your ears. We are very grateful for her support ❤️

01/01/2025

I thought you have probably all had enough of that “and with that the 2024 season comes to an end” I have 😂
2024 the year my body, brain, both said enough is enough, the year I wasn’t given a choice in choosing to rest I was forced to. I grappled with burn out for most of 2024 fighting the need to slow down, I still am to some degree. The most humbling, transformational experience of my life so far I think. Being faced with fear every day is not something I have ever felt before, having to choose to keep going and refuse to let it own me has been exhausting in itself.

I may not have achieved huge things in 2024 a fair plateau occurred in most areas of my life, but I did survive and I’m still proud of myself for that because I am most definitely not the same person I was in January last year. I have skills and knowledge I didn’t have before.
I have trudged through the blackness that was my mental health, drowned in the discomfort that is anxiety. But I have survived every intrusive thought, every feeling I thought was the worst I could ever feel, every sleepless night when my mind ran away with my body. I know I don’t have to believe every thought, I know I can choose not to disturb myself by leaning into them. My anxiety is allowed to flow now, and my energy levels are to be bloody listened to!
I don’t think I’ll be clear of this because place I have been lodged in for a while yet but I have certainly accepted it as the journey I am on. No resistance is left just acceptance and awareness.
Here’s to good habits in 2025 that bring us peace and joy, to starting again any moment we need, not just at the new year. And to be so kind to ourselves it radiates off us like a glowing light beaconing others to do the same 💫✨