Hey, Y'all,
Was delighted to see bight as AWAD!! I've only heard one person use this word... an aging Irishman who was trying to perfect my seat on a horse at a riding stable in Massachusetts. "If you're right-handed, the bight from both reins should fall on the horse's right shoulder." When seeing my confusion he raised his voice and spoke slowly as one might speak to a naughty child, "The BIGHT, Lass, the BIGHT!!" He explained that he was referring to the extra rein leathers that come out of the top of your hand, (as opposed to the reins entering the bottom of the hand come directly from the bits in the horse's mouth.) I must have had a good 5 foot loop of snaffle rein and even more of the curb as I recall being overwhelmed by flapping leathers getting caught on my feet or wedged under my knees. Nowadays I ride with a single rein much more in proportion to the horse with a scant 3 foot loop of bight. Thanks for prompting my trip down memory lane.