It doesn’t matter which hand you use on the reins. However, you can’t switch hands in the middle of a class.
I’m right handed and always used my right hand on split reins. I think it came from that fact that I grew up using romels and you lengthened and shortened the reins with your right hand. It just seemed more natural to me. I was never dinged for it.
I rode English as a kid, then took up reining while in graduate school then went back ti English again.
The hardest thing I found about riding one handed was keeping my shoulders square and not leaning to one side or the other. Oh and my arm would get sore from holding it out there. Once my strength built, I could keep it in that little imaginary box in front and above the saddle horn but it did take a while.
Oh and I’m left handed and held them mostly right-handed unless I needed to do something.
It eventually became totally natural and easy 
And I agree heavier reins are easier.
I ride english but often ride one handed on trail rides. I’m right handed and hold the reins in my left hand. I’ve shown my english girl in trail classes (in English tack) and find it handier to open gates, check the mail box etc with my right hand. My how things have changed in the western world from the days when i was taught to hold the reins “like an ice cream cone” reins coming out the “top” and put my free hand on my thigh!
[QUOTE=Mukluk;8758535]
My how things have changed in the western world from the days when i was taught to hold the reins “like an ice cream cone” reins coming out the “top”[/QUOTE]
Did you ride in romals at the time? This would be the correct way to hold those.
I am somewhat ambidextrous, and find that I ride with different hands depending on the horse and the reins. I ride my BO’s appendix with the split reins in my right hand, and I ride my pony in romels with the reins in my left and romel in my right. I use a fist hold on both types of reins, while everyone at the barn uses what I believe is called a california hold where they have the reins feed from top to bottom with a finger between the reins.
I really struggle to ride in splits. I just can’t make my reinless hand look or feel natural without something in it. I ride much better in the romels (and the romels suit my upright pony infinitely better than the countless styles of splits I tried on him) so find myself half the time just swapping BO’s splits for my romels when I take lessons on her boy, and the other half of the time (whem i’m just too lazy to deal with the ties on the splits) I end up holding the “tails” in my non-rein hand as if they were romels.
I’ve ridden H/J/Eq since I was a kid. In college I started riding western, mainly HUS and horsemanship. Needless to say, I’m right handed and ride with my left hand. I find that since I typically ride english, I’m less likely to grab at the horses face with my left hand. Learning to not have much connection with the horse’s face was seriously the hardest things about switching disciplines, so being somewhat less responsive with that hand was helpful. I was taught to hold your rein hand in front of your belly-button and then pretend there’s a box around it and you may move your hand in said respectable box.
Also, since I’m right-handed, and therefore stronger with the right hand, it took less energy to remember to keep my right hand closed (softly…unless I was having a hard time on the rail or in my patthern, then it was clenched so tight) since it is my dominant hand.
What do you do with the other hand? lol I guess whatever you want at home. I usually held a rock when schooling at home for shows. Reminded me to keep my hand closed and I had to make a conscious effort to hold my hand like I was holding a beloved ice cream cone. Or you could hold a real one
If you don’t care about showing and really want a trippy version, trying riding palm up per: https://pattimartinphotography.smugmug.com/Other/Bruce/i-fs4S8hW
Feels really funny, but very cool, because you absolutely can’t pull or brace. I play with it once in a while on my two rein horse.
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