69 | Let's Make Happy Barrel Ponies! Riding & Horse Training Lessons Solo Deep Dive w/Shelby

Happy horses happy life- is that the saying? Anyways, listen as Shelby discusses the approach to training and building a solid relationship with horses to make them happy, willing, sound and sane, willing, easy consistent; just to name a few words to describe the horses she wants to have.

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Yo, you made it to another episode of the We Can Hustle Podcast. My name is Shelby Ollerschleiger, and I'll be your host as we dive into barrel racers, athletes, and just people of the world to share, motivate, and inspire us all to be the best that we can be. Together, we can hustle. We're here. Welcome to my pod room. For those that can't see, you're missing out. You can watch the videos, the podcast interview videos, all on YouTube at Week Can Hustle. Be sure to check it out, subscribe to everything because I just give good stuff, you know, like humble brag moment. Uh, really trying with Weekend Hustle to give you everything that you need to succeed in all the arenas of your life. So pretty much it's unlimited, but we are our core is horse people. We love horses and we love what horses bring to our life and the value they add. And it's kind of using the leverage of horses and just the connection that they bring us to the depths of ourselves. And my experience, I've learned so much from horses. I'm so thankful and I feel so blessed that I've been given the opportunities to have horses in my life at a young age, and just the again, the opportunity is a privilege to take horses and stick with it because that doesn't always happen, you know. Some people are like, Oh yeah, you love horses in high school and stuff, but that's gonna change, like you're gonna get real life things happening, and I'm like, No man, horses are my real life, and I'm sure those listening can totally agree with that that this is who we are, and there's no going back, and we can just continue to grow and learn and evolve with the power of ourselves and the power of horses and what they really bring. So, this episode is brought a little bit because of that. It has come from the idea of making happy horses, and when I sat down with myself to think about the key points I wanted to make, I realized that horses really the relationship we have with horses really starts with the relationship that we have with ourselves, and we use that to mirror the relationship that we build with our horse. So when I think about making happy horses, I think about how do I feel about myself as well. And looking at the relationship with our horse, I think really reflects again the relationship that we have with ourselves and having a really good relationship with ourselves and being the leader in that way of trying to have, you know, honesty, integrity, um, like trust with ourselves, trust with our horses, I think they completely correlate among the two. And when I'm working with a horse, I try to have the same relationship that I would want to have with myself, such as not, you know, demanding and always giving or always taking but not giving and only going on my terms. And I think with horses, we get caught up always wanting to be right as the rider. We're like, no, I want my horse to do this, it's gonna do this, but we never really think about what the horse actually wants and what is the horse actually telling us. If we have a mutual relationship and mutual respect, we would take the time to sit down or like just take a step back and listen to what the horse is telling us. Because if you're in a relationship with anybody and they're not considering how you feel, and they just kind of keep telling you and pulling you, like grabbing your arm, making you do stuff and taking all these directions, but they never actually consider in that moment how you might feel about it. Eventually, you'd get pissed off and be like, hey, like I don't want to do that anymore because you're not even asking me if I feel like it or how I feel about the situation, you're not even telling me I get a choice, it's like a force, and that's where for me, my training might be different from others. Or I'm learning a lot about the consent aspect of horse training and the give and take is probably the biggest one that I really do want to touch on is just going with the flow of the ride, and again, considering the horse's emotions and the horse as an individual, how they feel about what you're asking them to do. And um, I think maybe people listening, we're all pretty big into performance, I would say. So, whatever discipline it is, I think it applies to anything that we're really asking and kind of demanding out of our horses because we want the best, we want the best out of ourselves, we want the best from our out of our horse as well. So, again, it's both of us working together for a common goal. And again, going back to if it's a relationship we want to have with ourselves, how would that look like? If we're staying true to ourselves, we're being accountable for the things we want to do, and then when we get on our horse, we can feel confident that we're also gonna allow the horse to feel accountable for what it wants to do. In my training, I really want to train them to do it on their own. I want to allow them and give them that moment where they can do it on their own. And so for barrel racers, I'll give you an example of when this happens. So, usually on the back side of a barrel, that's where people pull the hardest. And I mean, we're all guilty, like I am no saint, like I know this has been something that I've done before in the past that again, like this is why I learned these things and why I'm sharing it because, like, hi, like I'm the first one to say, like, I've done it, it's okay. So, the back side of the barrel where we really want that little snap, we want that quickness to square up and power out of the barrel to obviously be as fast as possible. We want that that hustle, like the hustle. We want them to square up their back feet and just power out and make a really nice snapping move. And when I was in the States working with some trainers, that's what they directed as the spot. Like it's the spot you can leave straight without the horse hitting the barrel. That is a spot we want to move to happen. We want that snap. It's not kind of going into it, it's on that back side where we really want this quickness. And I think no matter how hard you pull, you're not gonna get that quickness. So, my example is when I'm training, I kind of think of it backwards. So I want this result, I work backwards. So it's like if I want this snap to be as quick and snappy as possible, my horse just getting it done. How can I accomplish that? So, when I'm thinking about it, I will get them to that spot, I'll almost hold them around the turn, and when I get to that back side, I release, like I give it all back to them, and they almost crave that moment. So it's almost like if I'm going into the turn, I'll shape them, I'll hold them in the shape, get them nice and round, and when I hit that spot on the back side, I kind of release, and they learn that like when I release that they're allowed to go to town with what they want to do, which is typically like get down and dirty and just like make a snap. And it's pretty fun once they learn that they're allowed to do that. Because also think about this when you have horses out in a field that are feeling really frisky and excited, they go bonkers, like they like to get down and dirty, they like to zigzag and buck and kick and you know, like turn on a dime into the fence. Like they do enjoy doing those type of things, so it's kind of allowing them the proper moment that they can do that. And so when I'm training, again, working backwards, it's like I want that snap. So I'll do the things where I'm allowing them that moment to shine on their own, and eventually they crave it, like they just want to do it. So it's not a matter of me pulling them and forcing them to come around, and they don't really understand the assignment. They're just like, okay, like I'll come around, but you're kind of just like grabbing my face to do it. Instead, training them where they have that moment that they can do it on their own and they love it, and it builds confidence and it just builds like accountability, making them accountable for their job, and they know when they get to that spot on the barrel pattern, it's up to them. I don't have to do anything, I just kind of hang on for the ride. I sit, sit, look around, let them do their thing underneath of me. And I'm again being the director, I'm looking ahead, I'm trying to get out of there, but I'm letting them at that moment do their job and do their thing on their own completely. And that is definitely one thing that I think really builds super happy horses. I think there's definitely a lot that goes on in making horses just happy to work for you and just feeling you know you're not in a fight with them. If I let's say there's an issue going on somewhere, I will correct it, but I instantly will move on. And I like to really go with the flow with my rides. I think it almost represents again how I am just as a person where I just am very easygoing. If they make a mistake, I'm like, okay, fine, we'll try again and we'll work on it when I go back through. So I don't go on the pattern a whole lot, I will say that, but I do a lot of stuff that relates to the pattern. So when I go on the pattern, the pattern is so easy because they already know these maneuvers, they already know how to listen to my body, they already know, you know, like when I do this with my hand, they understand like the hand body works together, so they're already pretty responsive to my cues, but then we just go to a three-barrel pattern, like a normal clover leaf, and they are just kind of listening to me, and then they eventually learn the pattern on their own, but it's really not like a huge transition. It's just I do a lot of stuff at home, me just instilling these things and getting them where we're both working together really efficiently, and then on the pattern, it just doesn't change, it stays the exact same, so they they're not confused of oh, one day we're doing all this, the next day it's totally different. Oh, and then we go to a barrel race, and that's totally different, like it's just super confusing. So, I really do try to just keep it all the same, and again, very flexible, very easygoing, and that also is a trait that I just have within myself, and I relate it when I'm riding. It is one of those things that we can work on away from riding that when we get on a horse, it relates to it. And I think, especially in the winter, there's lots of stuff we can do without being in a saddle that will benefit us when it comes show season and when it comes time to really shine. So that is one thing. If you're not willing to be flexible with how things are done, maybe it's time to take an inner journey with yourself and try to identify those areas of why you're being so restrictive with how things are allowing to happen and unfold. And if you feel like you have to be in control 24-7 of it all, it's time I would say to figure out how you can just let go of that, let go of that need to be tight and be just like staggered with your approach. Like it doesn't have there's not a one-size-fit-all, like or does that make sense? There's not like only one way to do something. So, again, like allowing things to just kind of happen as it is, and that definitely actually does apply, I would say, for competing. A lot of pressure can be can be taken off when we just let go of what the result is and just kind of let what happened happen and be okay with that no matter what, because we all know it's part of like the great the grand scheme of things, and it's just meant to happen that way. If you can walk away learning the lesson, then it was not a fail, and you're one step closer to what you ultimately want. So, back to the whole point of easy breezy, flowy. Let the horse kind of give you the mistakes or make the mistakes, and you can correct as you go. So, with that being said, before a ride, unless I'm just trail riding to like long try, I really don't know what I'm gonna be doing for my ride. If I have the three barrels up, then maybe I'll do like some all left, so I'll do figure eights between the first two, and then maybe I'll do the full pattern at the end and then just kind of chill, do a little bit of like playing around. But for the most part, it's my it's a lot of me just listening to the horse and saying, like, what do we have to work on today? And I feel like I'm I know I'm not the first person to say that, and I think there's a reason for that is that it makes sense. Like, if you even when I go to the gym, I don't necessarily know what I'm gonna do. I kind of let my body tell me the area that feels I need to work. Now I'm I do think we need structure, we do need still a guide, but I think the guide should be pretty loose, it should be again flexible, so you don't say I need to accomplish this today because that feels already there's pressure, and I can feel the energy behind saying I need to fix this today, and what if it doesn't happen, then what? And then now you're kind of letting yourself down your horse is probably getting the wrath of your you not getting what you want. I can just see that setting yourself up to being not connected with your horse and not one with your horse. Um, side note, I feel like this applies to like all relationships, so not like I'm a relationship guru by any means, but I like to have a good relationship with myself and have clarity and just be honest with myself and be forgiving and all these things, and just again, like not be so hard on myself. And I think it's the same with our horses. We have to have mutual respect if we want to really accomplish the things at the highest level for us, and that's kind of the whole point is reaching our potential. The whole point of it all is we're trying to reach our own version of our potential, and you know, that also means it's an individual race, it's your own race, it's your own journey, your own life, your own timeline. You are against you and what your greatest potential is. So we're always trying to reach that, and I think that's also a good little side note as well to consider, and just keep in mind when you're at a race or anywhere and you see all these people that are so much better, just know like that you're right on time. Like, you need to again, if you just focus on how you can level up yourself, eventually you will be wherever you want to be, and I know it. Like, I can pretty well guarantee that. Like, if you stay focused and stay on track to where you want to go for yourself and what feels right for you, that you'll get there, no doubt. The next point I want to say for training horses, also, I think, again with every relationship, is the give and take aspect. I think when I this kind of goes actually ties into what we just said of being flexible, so that also means just kind of giving and taking with the demands that you have and the results that you want at that moment, we have to be able to give and to take. So we can't say I want to do all this and be so strict about it. We have to kind of give a little bit back to say, like, if we don't accomplish that today, you know, like it's okay. The give and take to me feels like if they're not ready for something, I'll be okay with that. If I try to do something and they're saying, like, yeah, like this is too much, they'll be like, okay, we'll back up a little bit instead of forcing and trying to like make that happen right then and there, be like, okay, no problem, we'll back up, we'll give you the time you need, and that's you giving back, like that's you kind of giving the release, getting them back to where they're confident and they're comfortable, and then you know, and that's just saying that it isn't all about you, and I think we all have egos, we like to make things all about us, but with training horses, it really, really isn't all about us, and to have that give and take aspect of being okay when it's time to give back, like get the pressure off of them, slow it down a little bit, even though you really don't want to, and you want to do all these things. But if your horse is saying, like, okay, I need to slow down, then do that and do that for them. And again, you're not on a specific timeline, you're just progressing and doing that a little bit better every day, and listening to the horse, what they're saying, if they need help, let's say really picking that shoulder up and getting past the first barrel, for instance, and you test them. Let's say you go up to the first, trying to do the thing right, but they're still kind of pushing on you. Try to correct it, but then just go through it again and keep doing that, keep those little corrections instead of like one ginormous correction, keep just cat like slowly fixing it. Because the other thing I'll say is that problems don't happen overnight. Problems don't happen in one single run, like run or one single training day, they happen over time. So you have to be realistic about how long something's gonna take if something is going wrong to fix it. So if you have a shouldering issue and the one day you're like, I am so sick of my horse shouldering, which again I'll raise my hand saying, like, yeah, me too. Like been there, done that. If you're just like, okay, I'm so sick of this, like, how can I fix it? And then let's say you try a new approach, it starts working, but the second day you're like, okay, we are never, we're gonna have this fixed. And then let's say you go completely out of context on your horse, you like really rip on its face, you do all this stuff that you never really normally would do just because you're trying to fix it in one go. A couple things that will happen is first, you're just gonna again like kind of kill some trust that you had with your horse because your horse was all of a sudden like go easy, happy, doing its thing, and all of a sudden you just like out of nowhere, just like do things that is just so out of context, then you're slowly you're gonna be ruining that confidence and some of that trust that the horse had in you because the horse knew, okay, I know what to expect from this rider, and all of a sudden you just go way left field and you're like, We're fixing this shoulder thing right now, and you do all this stuff that you wouldn't normally do, you're not gonna, I don't think you're really going to fix the issue because again, like it didn't take a day to develop, and it's not gonna take a day to be corrected. But going to just like a life lesson of one step at a time, like if you can just do one percent better, where eventually instead of your horse bracing at the second barrel, if you all of a sudden get it to get soft going into it, like that's a huge accomplishment. Keep on that path, or eventually you can get to the backside and you feel confident that you can let him go and get that snap that you want, and you're giving up some of the control, but you're also just taking it that one percent at a time and just going at the natural path that the horse is doing. In my head, as I'm saying this, I just keep thinking about my futurity horse last year, Junior, because he was he was pretty trainable, but he had his things, especially going to races. He was pretty not confident and just would like be, you know, like all of a sudden, like he was super sensitive as well. So sensitive to my body, which was good for me because I feel like I've been used to just like more horses that are more on the dull side that I have to sharpen, where he was already pretty sharp, so I had to I had to learn to just quiet myself, which definitely wasn't a bad thing. I always had the end in mind, and because I do train futurity horses, it is about the end of the season for me, not necessarily the beginning. I know a lot of different trainers will say something different if they're training futurity horses because some people are planning for the juvenile. A lot of people, you know, like they have to have their horses running like top and peaking by November when they're still like a three-year-old basically. So I definitely like I haven't really pushed that. I'd be interested to try it just so I could figure out the timing of having to get a horse going like that that early. But for the most part, I've been always focused on and not caring about how I start my year as much as opposed to how I finish it. With every future horse I've had, I literally have been so just key on the result at the end of the year because I've always given my horses to somebody else, and it's really important to me that someone else can get on the horse that they haven't run before and do the same thing that I did with it, and the horse stays as consistent and as confident and as happy with that person because they don't have to be dealing with any baggage that I have put on it. Actually, now that I say that, even just the idea of baggage, it is emotional baggage because if we're doing these things, like I again a relationship with the person or with ourself, like we all have this type of emotional baggage that we do carry on, no matter what relationship we're in, it's all about ourselves, like it's our own baggage, it's our things that we get reactive by that we how we respond. It's things because of what we've gone through in our life. So, with the horses, I want them to have zero baggage, I want them to just be themselves fully and not take away their own thunder, not change them in any way. And I think that's a kind of a cool point as well, actually, of how it relates horses and people, horses and humans, how like letting them be themselves, again, getting them to their highest potential at that moment. So for me, I only have a featured horse for one probably two years, usually, because I get them as a three-year-old exhibition, run them as a four-year-old, and then sell them shortly after. For the most part, I try not to keep them all, but it happens anyways. But just getting uh letting them be fully themselves and wanting like getting them to progress at their pace and being cool with that. Like again, it's not like I'm trying to prove something the first barrel raise, usually. I just again want that progression. I want them to stay on the path that they have been on all winter, all as a three year old, and we just kind of keep going. We don't change drastically now because they're competing. It's just again letting them be fully themselves, letting them run their own weird style because some horses. Just have like weird things they do. I literally recently been saying, I'm like, this horse just is a goof. Like he's just a little weird. But then I'm thinking, like, everyone is, like every horse, every person, we're all just a little weird. So there is no cookie cutter to any of my program because every horse is gonna shine differently, just like every person is. Everyone has their strengths and their weaknesses. So then it's my job to learn that and figure that out and then work with that. So if a horse doesn't naturally want to get under itself, I'm not gonna force it to do it because it's not gonna do that in a run. When it comes down to it, their natural style is always going to be the strongest, not my training. So I don't even bother fighting and resisting the nature of that because some horses just run differently, and I'm so okay with that because it's good for me, and different experiences teach you different things. So I'm always thinking that every horse is a new experience, every person I interact with is a new experience that I get to learn something new from. So just having that open mind and awareness when that that happens, and again, just kind of letting it play out how it's going to leveraging the natural ability of every horse because we all have like different strengths again, different strengths, different weaknesses, using that to our advantage because you can't out train their natural style, and I kind of enjoy that as well because you have unique horses, and that's the whole point, is they all are unique, just like we are, we're all unique, but yeah, it's just um just things to keep in mind when you're riding your horse, just be flexible, be easygoing about it. Don't force, I would say, kind of take it at the horse's pace and have your rough guide. Obviously, if you're a barrel racer, it's to turn through barrels nicely, but be flexible with some of the approach to getting that. The one final thing I'll say is I've been really caught up in watching people and trying to be people, trying to ride like others, trying to mimic other people's style and pretend I was them basically. And this is quite a few years ago, so I think I have matured for since then and just kind of really found my own path and my own way. But for anyone listening that feels a little confused and unsure what they're doing, or they're constantly changing stuff because they aren't really true to themselves, like you don't have your foundation yet, and it's totally okay because like I've definitely been there, but the one thing I just want to remind you is that it's so key to learn yourself, learn what works for you in all ways, in all arenas, not just riding, but learn what works for you, learn your style, like your natural style when no one's telling you what feels right for you, competing or training, whatever, what feels right, what is your natural style? Because that also is important, just as much as a horse has a natural style, so do we as riders. So just learning yourself so much that you can take knowledge and instead of just trying it for no reason or just trying it because you're desperate to try something else or you don't know what to do, so you're like, Oh, I'll do anything. So you just kind of mimic people, but you don't really have the understanding behind it. I want you to get so clear on yourself and your style and what is good for you that when you watch others, you can think about how that would relate to you and your style. Instead of just copying someone's style and hoping that works because it doesn't. I've been there. Try to figure out how those styles will help you. Eventually, you'll develop your own style that you won't be wavered from, you won't be swayed, like persuaded to do something different when it doesn't really feel right. And I mean it's always good to have an open mind, but again, have an open mind in a way that you can learn and observe others, but always have it go through the filter of yourself. I think with that, from my experience, I've eventually learned you learn horses, like anyone can teach you just the behavior of horses and how we can do things. We always can learn more about them. Learn that, but then apply it to you. Put it through the lens of how it will work for you. Use those, those, you know, those that knowledge, use the knowledge from other people, the secondhand knowledge, such as things that I'm even sharing. Use use it, think about it, but then also think how does it work for you? So instead of just doing something mindlessly, really be aware of it and learn and get it really deep inside of how does this make sense for me? And experiment, try it. If it doesn't feel right, you know, like just keep evolving yourself, keep experimenting your way forward, and eventually you'll be so sure of you that no one will try to control and tell you, like, you should only do this because of this, and you'll be like, Okay, I'll do that because you have no confidence in your own self. Where developing that confidence comes from the knowledge, and it just comes from trusting and believing in you and trusting your program. Last week's episode, I talked about that of not trusting your program and being kind of persuaded with people that have good intentions, but you're just being pushed a little bit to do something different, and then you do it and it didn't work, and then now you're really confused because you don't even know what to go back on, because you just changed so much about almost who you are to try to get an instant result in the arena. So, again, just staying really true to your own path and learning, but also just doing it yourself, like feeling it out yourself and trusting yourself. So eventually you develop your program and you'll feel good about it. And again, it just comes with like the horsemanship aspect, learning from others, but then learning how to apply it for you, and it has to make sense for you, like you'll be the one in the arena competing. It needs to feel right for you if you're gonna be consistent and you're gonna have that endurance of it and go for the longevity of your riding. It has and again, if you want it to be fun, it has to feel right for you, like there's no way around it. So, I definitely am at a place now where I feel pretty solid with myself and my training. It's taken quite a long time to get there, and I'm always really happy to share it because I've gone through the hard journey. Really, I have like going to the States to intern, and I'm a first generation barrel racer. It just like there's just there's a lot to it. There always is, there always will be, and I think that's why I'm addicted. And if you're listening, I'm sure you have like the horse fever as well. So I do like sharing all this, and if I can help and just give you a new perspective, most importantly, a perspective that will just open your eyes to new perspectives, and then you can look at it from your view and be like, How does this work? Like you're almost scanning everything and putting it again through your filter to be like, Does that make sense? How's that? Oh, that's cool. I wonder why they're doing that. And then you kind of apply it and you're like, Oh, yeah, that makes sense. I like that, and you're like, I'll keep doing that because that feels good, and like I feel like I got a good result with that, and it's just experimenting your way through. So I do really like sharing this and being a way that I can give some value and just help you because I went through the process alone, and it was very painful at times because I think any sort of growth really does come from something uncomfortable. I'm sure I'm not the only one that feels that way, but when we get to the other side, we're so thankful for those obstacles, and we're so thankful to be learning these things. So I don't really want people necessarily to go through it quite the way I did because it wasn't, I don't think it was necessarily ideal, but I am also here to share these things, and I'm here to give you a bit of a perspective and some insight to the things that I've learned and then things that other people have also learned, and that's kind of what a community really is, is just being able to support each other and use each other's experiences for the better, and how we all can kind of raise each other up, so it's kind of instead of raising, I forget how the saying is, but it's just like you're raising the water so everyone's boats rise. That's kind of the whole point of weekend hustle, is I want it to be that source where everyone can put their boat in, we all can just kind of raise it up together. So, with that all being said, I am launching, have launched Week and Hustle Club. It's a community resource center with training from myself, different instructors, all tackling and focusing on the mind, body, ride, and soul. It's pretty like pretty large, I would say. I like to have these, like just again, it's the all the arenas of our life. So everything really does start with ourselves, and I'm a firm believer in that. So it's how we can come to a place and be ourselves and learn ourselves and learn the stories of others, share our stories, have the support, have the community, have resources and video like training content that will help you and help all of us slowly just take that one percent every day towards our goals and take that action and do the things that we feel called to do with our horses and just do it together because I went I did it alone and it was kind of it was hard, it was really, really hard, and I don't think it's necessary. So I don't want you to have to struggle through it alone and figure these things out. It's like take all my horrible experiences and learn from it as well. So that all being said, I really hope that would be of interest for you. I really would love to see you inside that. You can click the link, it'll be in the description. Also, just find we can hustle anywhere you can, it's everywhere. YouTube videos, we got the pod that you're listening to, the website, the new community, insta, Facebook. I'm a little bit on TikTok just posting the same little mini training videos that are pretty easy to digest. So check all those out and um also just to be involved. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any topics or any questions you want answered. I'm here to help. I will, you know, open book style, like I will share anything that I can. And if I don't know the answer, I will find it for you and find the people that can also help you direct you again towards and just down your path that you're going down. So thank you so much for listening. This is Shelby Olerschleiger from Week of Hustle, and uh we will see you later and goodbye for now.