THE POWER OF THE FEMININE

Women empowered by horses

By Isabel Wolf-Gillespie

Women have fought to achieve equal rights in many parts of Africa. In some countries, women are still not equal in the eyes of the law. Even where they are legally equal to men, it is common for decisions to be made by male heads of households or local chiefs and leaders.

The first lawful votes for women in the UK were held in 1918, and a further 57 years elapsed before the sexual discrimination act (1975) very few African countries have been independent for more than 60 years, it is unsurprising that women's legal and cultural status lags behind countries like the UK. Equality needs time. It also requires a focus on education, as well as community upliftment projects and awareness campaigning.

Often the roles of men and women differ; traditionally, women look after the homestead, while men find jobs outside the home. The care of children, the sick or the elderly is generally viewed as the responsibility of women. With poor access to childcare facilities or health and support services in many regions, caring for family members can take up much of a woman's time. Women frequently have a high amount of work, such as gathering firewood or tending family fields. Household chores can be a huge burden, limiting women's ability to take on paid employment. In reality, women who undertake paid work often experience a wage gap between their earnings and those of men. With jobs mostly entailing the same work, this gap can only be attributed to gender discrimination. In certain sectors, women also face barriers to joining trade unions or doing business as self-employed individuals.

Though many governments in Africa, including South Africa and Botswana, where I live, are committed to providing equal education for girls, girls are more likely to drop out of school than boys or won't be given a chance even to attend school; however, providing girls with a good education is vital for a country's development. When women are equipped with learning and can share decisions about families and livelihoods, the productivity and health of a society rises.

Equine-facilitated interventions

The value of equine-facilitated interventions within a rural African context working primarily with girls and women is enormous, especially the effects of the observation and reflection on the dynamics of a naturally living horse herd. In rural Africa, equines are part of life; they are not an item or a recreational hobby. The community relies on the equine to assist in their daily life, but traditionally, the men are tasked with livestock duties. The women and girls have little to no interaction with the equines they live with and rely on to exist. This often causes a disconnect - a non-engaging distance between women/ girls and the equines. A facilitated interactive experience which brings the equine into a relatable, sentient context is nothing short of an eye-opener.

Herd dynamics

A complete, natural herd of horses consists of varying numbers of mares, stallions and youngsters of different ages living together harmoniously. In my opinion and experience, when speaking of a complete natural herd, all the basic needs of horses are met. These comprise food and water, companionship, safety and shelter (for example, trees), and freedom and space for movement. Horses are always acutely aware of themselves, each other and their environment. Based on this awareness, they decide to remain in a fully regulated, homeostatic state if allowed to live a natural, non-restricted, non-conventional life. Not to say that they do not experience fright or other forms of stress, but their regulatory system is impeccable in getting them back into the feeling of safety and security (with themselves, each other and the environment).

The naturally living family herd offers a glimpse into the life of a family, and whether the family is two or four-legged becomes very soon irrelevant. The human participants observe interactions between horse family members, recognising and resonating with the observed behaviour. Some participants gasp in astonishment: "This is just like at home with my children!" or "My mother is just like that horse over there!" The one aspect that often causes complete surprise and disbelief is when the women realise that a horse herd is led by a lead mare and not as expected by the forceful, strong male. The lead mare is responsible for the herd's overall well-being, health and safety, taking on the mother's role and responsibility not only for her own offspring but also for the entire herd. To equestrians or experienced horsewomen, this is nothing new, but even these individuals can enter a process of reflection and questioning of their own lives when faced with these observations. It is almost as if suddenly, the power and value of the feminine are recognised, acknowledged, appreciated, and seen with new found respect. This realisation in itself opens up conversations surrounding emotions of inequality, suppression and fear, discrimination and a low sense of self- worth. At the same time, the horse herd and behaviours within their herd represent a "mirror" like no other for the woman to learn how to respond to these new-found realities and apply them to their day-to-day life.

In the Tao of Equus, the author Linda Kohanov shares that equine society works loosely on the basis of what could be called a pecking order but that it's not as strict or predictable as most people believe. What is more interesting and where human society, in particular the women and girls referred to in this article, can learn from is the manner in which the pecking order and, therefore, the identity of the herd's lead mare is established. Is it through force and dominance? Is it by birthright i.e. the one born to a leader is naturally going to be a leader? Is it established through gender differences? These questions are raised with the task of observing the horse herd once more, looking for body language and possibly verbal clues that would enable an assessment of the individual horses' ranks and statuses.

A lead mare establishes her place by pushing just enough, but not too much, at the right time, consistently and with love and respect for those she asks to follow her. Lao-Tzu's leadership model[3] is an unobtrusive, nurturing "less is more" philosophy that forms alliances and not dictatorships and is a philosophy fitting the way of the horse. And as it seems, humans too… The realisation that, in fact, women are leaders ignites an inner light too bright for words.

In summary

Women's contribution to society was limited and controlled by men throughout history and to this day, but in more recent years, women have begun to stand tall. Women's Rights Movements such as #metoo have gripped the world, uniting and empowering women across the globe. Most of this can be attributed to equal access to education and a greater knowledge of rights. It is almost fitting that the equine-facilitated field has had to fight for its rights just like the women it serves today. Equinefacilitated activities and/or therapy worldwide encourage women to believe in themselves and acknowledge the value they, and their feminine self, are playing in society. These women are happy to embrace a new set of challenges brought by such freedom. As each woman grows guided by a lead mare and horse family, the positive impact on their children, family, community, and society expands exponentially. A new approach. A new future. A better world…through the horses.

ISABEL WOLF-GILLESPIE , as the founder and operator of In the Company of Horses and Earth Awareness Consulting, is bringing together the human development capacity of horses with coaching, leadership development and environmental education. With a postgraduate honours degree in Leadership Development and a master’s degree in management coaching which were both obtained from Stellenbosch University, she combines a sound theoretical foundation with her years of experience in horsemanship, holistic horse care, facilitation, and people development.

For more information about her work or direct enquiries about coaching and workshops, please contact her on: info@inthecompanyofhorses.co.za or isabel@earthawareness.co.za or visit www.inthecompanyofhorses.co.za and www.earthawareness.co.za