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

It was hot at the base of the hills—so hot that when your bridle hand dropped inadvertently to the pommel of the saddle, the brass mounting there seemed to burn you.

From Stories from Everybody's Magazine by Various

Q. How many lines of action should the little finger of the bridle hand move on?—A.

From The Barb and the Bridle A Handbook of Equitation for Ladies, and Manual of Instruction in the Science of Riding, from the Preparatory Suppling Exercises by Moustache, Vielle

He reached out and seized, with gentle firmness, the girl's bridle hand.

From The Son of his Father by Cullum, Ridgwell

As for bridle hand, old Demijohn needed none.

From The Missourian by Lyle, Eugene P. (Eugene Percy)

Roden’s meditations took to themselves wings, and drawing his revolver, as more convenient at close quarters than the rifle, shifted the latter into his bridle hand, and sat for a moment intently listening.

From A Veldt Official A Novel of Circumstance by Mitford, Bertram