Time, Pressure, And Business Growth: Changing Your Relationship With Time

Photo by Lillie Ratcliffe Photography

As equestrians, we often feel like there is never enough time. The horses still need feeding. Clients still need replying to. Content still needs posting. There are lessons to teach, orders to pack, accounts to sort, horses to ride and somehow we are also meant to have a life outside of the yard too,

Many equestrian business owners live with this constant feeling of racing against the clock, and it can leave you feeling permanently behind, overwhelmed or frustrated that your business isn’t growing fast enough.

But what if the issue isn’t actually time itself?

There are essentially two ways of looking at time. The first is what’s often called Newtonian time, based on the ideas of Isaac Newton. This is the idea that time is fixed, linear and the same for everyone. An hour is an hour. A day is a day. Time is always ticking away and once it’s gone, it’s gone.

This is how most of us run our businesses.

We look at the clock constantly. We panic about not having enough hours in the day. We try to squeeze more and more into our schedules believing productivity equals success.

But then there’s another understanding of time introduced by Albert Einstein.

Einstein showed that time is not actually as fixed as we think. Time can expand and contract depending on experience, perception and focus. We have all experienced this ourselves. An hour spent doing something stressful can feel endless, whilst an entire afternoon doing something we love can disappear in moments (like riding!).

The really interesting thing is that your relationship with time directly impacts your business growth.

When you constantly believe you are running out of time, you operate from pressure and scarcity. You rush decisions. You struggle to be present. You feel reactive rather than intentional. Your nervous system is constantly in “go” mode and over time this affects creativity, confidence and even your ability to see opportunities clearly. I see this so often with equestrian entrepreneurs. They are incredibly hardworking but permanently stressed. They are always busy, but not always moving forward.

Changing your relationship with time can completely change this.

Instead of asking:

“How do I fit more into the day?”

I perhaps the better question is:

“How do I create more spaciousness, clarity and focus within my day?”

Because often the biggest breakthroughs in business don’t come from forcing and hustling harder. They come from thinking differently, slowing down enough to hear your own ideas, and creating space for strategic action instead of constant motion.

Interestingly, horses teach us this all the time.

Horses do not respond well to frantic energy. The more pressured and tense we become, the more disconnected things often feel. But when we slow down, regulate ourselves and become truly present, everything changes.

Communication improves. Performance improves.

Trust improves.

Business is often exactly the same.

This doesn’t mean you stop taking action or suddenly work less hours overnight. It means you stop treating time like an enemy.

You begin trusting that there is enough time for what truly matters.

You become more intentional with your energy, your focus and your priorities. You stop glorifying burnout and start creating a business that actually feels good to run.

And ironically, this is often when growth speeds up.

Because success in business is not just about how much time you have. It’s about the energy, mindset and presence you bring to the time you do have, and having a thought out strategic plan starts with giving yourself space to breathe.

Enjoy reframing your relationship with time.

---

Photo by Lillie Ratcliffe Photography

Nicola Kinnard-Comedie

(Msc, BHSAI Int. SM)

Nicola is the owner and founder of NKC Equestrian Training, delivering horse care training to horse owners and business and mindset coaching to equine practitioners.

Nicola is a qualified riding instructor and has over 20 years industry experience, and now uses her coaching skills to assist equine practitioners. Nicola decided to combine her experience of equestrian science, sales and marketing, and teach this to others. Nicola works with veterinary physiotherapists, massage therapists, osteopaths and other equestrians across the world to help them build their dream business. Nicola's work focuses on harnessing the power of your mindset, together with cutting edge marketing strategies to support equestrian business owners to realise the business of their dreams.

You can find out more about Nicola here: www.nkcequestrian.com

Facebook

Instagram

This article is from the June 2026 issue of Equine Business Magazine