My daughter Matilda was just starting out on her journey with ponies but I was always worried for her safety. What would happen if Matilda fell off? That dreadful silence just before the scream would be the first thing I would experience, then my mind would be racing, Matilda would be hurt, her little body hitting the ground is never going to have a good outcome. Her little body would 
be bruised or worse, she would be in pain.
Apart from the awful physical damage how would she feel mentally?
Matilda would have trusted me to keep her safe. I would then feel terribly guilty and that I had failed as a parent. She would be frightened to get back in the saddle again, her pony journey ended before it even started. She would remember the physical hurt she felt and also feeling completely terrified not knowing what was happening. What was I thinking putting her on a pony, an animal which could be so unpredictable at times.
All my dreams of me and my daughter out riding together across the countryside smashed before they even got going.
But thankfully this didn’t happen, we had a few close shaves but my trusty Equihandee Harness was something I always insisted that Matilda wore when she rode so these frightening things didn’t happen. There were times when she refused point blank to wear her Equihandee and I would battle with her but I would tell her she couldn’t ride unless you wore it. I refused to back 
down, I knew what could happen as I had experienced many falls myself. For me the Equihandee is as important for her as her hat is.
My Equihandee Harness always gave Matilda confidence in the saddle, there were times when she didn’t feel so confident and she would ask for me to hold her handle so she wouldn’t fall 
off. She knew should her pony trip, fall or spook I would be able to stabilise or save her from falling off.
For me as a parent the Equihandee gave me peace of mind, I could hold Matilda easily, my body wasn’t going in 2 different directions it was completely straight and the times Matilda didn’t want me to hold her but I felt unsure I could have my hand on the handle without her knowing. It was always win win with Equihandee
