This little story reminds me of the time my devoted husband, Christopher, tried roping our horse, Cody. You see, Cody had recently been moved to a new boarding facility, and he apparently didn't care much for it, so he decided WE were the reason he was miserable. To show his disdain for us, every time we went to catch him to go for a ride he would either run from us or turn to stand in the corner of his stall looking like he was going to kick us if we got close enough. Well... I wanted to ride and my dear devoted husband was up for the challenge of catching this horse that we now lovingly called Elmer. He tried walking up to him...but Elmer kept turning away and flattening his ears. Thirty minutes went by and the sun was starting to dip. I was eagerly awaiting my horse back ride. We tried luring him over to the fence so we could slip the halter on while he was eating hay from our hand. Another 30 minutes went by....I was still eager to ride!! At this time, my brilliant and devoted husband had a very good idea....he was going to rope the horse!! He went to our tack room and grabbed our lasso. First you must know, my husband is no cowboy. He did NOT grow up on a farm. He has never roped a creature in his life. He is plenty confident though. He carries himself well with strong broad shoulders. He is a proud man. He twirled that lasso like an old cowhand and managed to catch the horse around his neck. There's just one tiny problem....Cody did NOT want this rope around his neck. I don't think dear Christopher expected Cody to rear up on his hind legs like he did. I don't think he expected Cody to kick the fence boards on his stall hard enough to break them off at the post. I don't think he expected Cody would take off running like he did. I don't think was expecting any of that...but that's what he got. At this point, Cody was entirely freaked out by what was going on. My devoted husband was not going to back down to a silly 1200 pound horse. His wife wanted a ride and that's all that mattered to him. As I stood behind the fence I was having second thoughts about riding this crazy beast...but I said nothing. I was too impressed by what I saw. My man, the newly ordained cowboy, had lassoed my horse and was now fighting hard to "rein him in". His 200 lb frame was nothing against this wild eyed 1200 pound beast. The rope was pulled.... palms were burned....boards were broken...knees were skinned...PAIN!! These antics continued for a good half hour. By now the sun was dipping much lower. I certainly didn't want to ride this damn horse now...he was CRAZY!! I was scared for my husband's safety. I did NOT want him to get seriously injured by this horse...the horse we bought for our 10 year old son because he begged us for 2 years....the horse NO 10 year old would ride!!! This could not end well. I begged him to "just get that damn rope off his neck and let's go home". We drove home that night in silence. I was in awe of what I had just seen. My dear sweet and loving husband was feeling proud of his accomplishment. He was now a real cowboy!!

This story is dedicated to that wonderful man who is also known as Hugefish_80 here on this site.