Definition of "bridle path"

A party came round the angle of a rock, along the narrow bridle-path, in single file; two ladies on horseback, followed by as many gentlemen on foot, and preceded by the usual guide.

1835, James Fenimore Cooper, The Monikins, Introduction

It was not a bridle-path—merely a pedestrian's track, and the boughs spread horizontally at a height not greater than seven feet above the ground, which made it impossible to ride erect beneath them.

1874, Thomas Hardy, chapter 3, in Far from the Madding Crowd

Then in the evening, he came suddenly upon Sue riding a spirited black horse in a bridle path at the upper end of the park.

1916, Sherwood Anderson, chapter 5, in Windy McPherson's Son

Some complaints about the Prospect Park trails seem to reflect the ever-present realities of urban horseback riding. Joggers and even bikers wander onto the bridle path.

2008 June 2, Kareem Fahin, “For Riders and Mounts, Rough Going in Prospect Park”, in New York Times, retrieved 3 October 2012