Travis, the Mule Skinner

In my experience, there are two kinds of horse husbands: those who couldn't care less about their wife's horsey lifestyle ("Can't I go fishing instead?") and those who are equally eager to slide into the saddle ("Aren't you tacked up yet?"). My husband falls somewhere in the middle.

Despite the fact that he's from Oklahoma, Travis is a true city boy. Whenever I dream out loud about living in a country paradise, he rolls his eyes and replies with thoughts about the reality of country living--muck and repairs. I sometimes wonder how I could I have married the only Okie who's not a cowboy!

Nevertheless, Travis has always supported my equine habits. When we're light on cash and I share my guilt about the board we pay for the girls, he's the first to defend the value of our mules. When Maxine gets a scratch, he won't rest until he knows what happened and how we can prevent it from happening again. If Madge runs out of alfalfa, he drives to the barn on his day off to make sure she gets a bail to accompany her regular grass hay. And each week, he dutifully helps me pack grain bags in our garage so they can be delivered on lesson day.

While he's always been of great support to me, I've noticed that he's become even more invested since Madge was born. However, I doubt it's just a coincidence. When Madge was born, she didn't start nursing right away. When I got the call that she had been delivered, I finished up a few things at work and headed down to the barn as quickly as I could. When I arrived, Travis was already under the mare, holding our new little girl, trying to get her to nurse. He struggled with her for over an hour--moving her head to the teet and picking her up when she fell so she could keep trying. As I stood there watching, I knew he was bonding with that little brat.

Nearly a year later, Travis and Madge have become quite the pair. He's learned so much about groundwork by helping me with her and he doesn't let her get away with anything. When she tries to catch him in a moment of weakness, he's often reacts with thoughtful discipline before I can even finish a sentence.

As you can probably tell, I wouldn't trade my city boy for any cowboy in the world. He provides the perfect balance of interest and disinterest. If I invite him on a ride, he's happy to join us, and yet he doesn't sulk if I want to go camping with the girls. Instead, he takes the opportunity to watch baseball and play poker with his friends. While he's still more comfortable in a baseball hat than a cowboy hat (even though he looks damn good in one), he's become accustomed to his barn boots. At this rate, maybe, just maybe, I'll convince him to move to the country some day.

Photo: Madge gives Travis some lip after a recent training session. While she's shedding out nicely and is freshly roached, Travis needs a haircut!