Back in the day, western riders held the reins in one hand with the other hand resting on the thigh. Nowadays, I see western folks riding with the reinless hand “cocked” e.g. bent at the elbow. It looks kind of odd to me. I ride english and when trail riding with one hand, I let my other arm relax. I suppose folks would say that having the rainless hand bent at the elbow would make them more straight but I’m not that sure about that (I don’t feel crocked when I rest my rainless hand on my thigh). So is this “decorative” or “functional?” Is it just a trend? When did it start? I am simply curious and eagerly await enlightenment. Thanks in advance!
It is a cross over from horsemanship classes where riders have both arms bent and held at the same level to ensure straight shoulders. It just kind of bled over to other classes. Riding with your other arm relaxed straight down is just as acceptable. It isn’t very common to see anyone resting their arm on their thigh anymore though
The relaxation of the hand on the thigh is the ideal, what is shown today often looks like a flapping rooster imho…and it shows the tension in the rider. Functional is long gone imho.
I tend to ride with my non rein arm bent and resting lightly at my waist. Not sure when I started doing that - but I do have a hard time with my arm hanging down to the side. It’s always wanting to jump in and help, and I think keeping it bent relaxes some of that urge. 
I just have to remember in classes to relax and let it hang.
I have my students have both hands at about the same position with the hand not holding the rein closer to the body. Even for a pleasure class it keeps the body more balanced. This is especially true for riders first entering the show ring.
Now trail riding, relax and have fun but do keep in mind that you must still be balanced and if you can do that with a hand on the leg that is fine.
My husband once fussed because his mare kept going to the left while ambling down trails. Finally one day I was behind him and saw him keep pulling the strap of his overalls up on his left shoulder. He was dropping his shoulder which shifted his weight, that in turn had her drifting left.
It may depend on the breed. Hand on the thigh is still VERY common in Arabian shows. Or maybe a function of the reins? We tend to use romels.
[QUOTE=MyssMyst;7384748]
It may depend on the breed. Hand on the thigh is still VERY common in Arabian shows. Or maybe a function of the reins? We tend to use romels.[/QUOTE]
Hand down that way IS a romel thing. You have to keep the romel out of your way, and with some exaggerated romel lengths, even coil it in in the right hand so romel doesn’t drag or hit the horse legs. And yeah, Arabs are still the leaders in using romels these days.
I started out with hand on thigh, but have changed to holding elbow close to body, hand in front of belt buckle. Keeps my shoulders even, easy to reach reins if a tweak is needed. So I think the hand by belt buckle is helpful in better body position, ALL the time. Except for small practice times before classes or to teach horse how one-handed feels, I always ride two-handed. This is both Western or English, because I can do things better with a hand on each rein. Horse responds better, stays light with contact for whatever is asked of them. Not showing at any big shows, or even small ones much now, but it is a good method to keep them responding well. Horses need to get used for many things, so being a decent, balanced rider, having good rein handling skills to tell him his job, is quite important to me.
And lastly, having a rein in each hand, with or without contact for a several hour ride or work session, helps keep ME balanced all the time on his back. Then neither of us get sore by the end of the day! Just a practical way to do things best for him and me, in an easy to use way.
[QUOTE=Mukluk;7384494]
(I don’t feel crocked when I rest my reinless hand on my thigh).[/QUOTE]
Ha ha. I mean I don’t feel crooked either 
When I see western folks riding with the reinless arm up, I think they should just ride two handed. But perhaps that is just me. I surely appreciate everyones helpful comments.
I ride reining with my free arm across my waist and relaxed. It really kills my balance to put my hand on my thigh at speed. Sure I look dumb, but I’ll take that over unbalanced.
