bridle hand

American  

noun

1. (of a horseback rider) the hand, usually the left hand, that holds both reins or both pairs of reins, leaving the other hand free to manage a whip, crop, lariat, or the like.

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Etymology

Origin of bridle hand

First recorded in 1570–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bridle hand

His limbs were firm, and not pliable, and he sat his horse with strength and confidence, but his bridle hand would have been ridiculed by the meanest rider amongst the Virginians.

From The Spy by Cooper, James Fenimore

I was not sure of my way; I had a hurt in my bridle hand, and evening was approaching, heralded by an icy rain and a cold, searching wind.

From The Three Brides, Love in a Cottage, and Other Tales by Durivage, Francis A. (Francis Alexander)

This action ought to be performed without disturbing either the position or action of the bridle hand.

From Maids Wives and Bachelors by Barr, Amelia Edith Huddleston

But as they wheeled their horses on guard with a touch of the bridle hand, I saw John Scarlet, Wat's master of fence, flash a look at his scholar's guard-sword.

From The Men of the Moss-Hags Being a history of adventure taken from the papers of William Gordon of Earlstoun in Galloway by Crockett, S. R. (Samuel Rutherford)

One lost his hat and had received a severe scar on the forehead, and the other had one on his bridle hand.

From The International Monthly Magazine, Volume 5, No. 1, January, 1852 by Various