Utah pol gets off lightly by kissing horse

FARMINGTON, Utah, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- A Utah county official says he got off lightly after smooching a stoic horse to pay off a weight-loss bet his staff made with the staff at a local hospital.

Davis County Commissioner Alan Hansen went through with the "kiss-a-horse" ceremony in Farmington, Utah. Tuesday, but it was a makeup for missing the original payoff, which involved the drooling champion steer at the county fair.

"Thankfully, it was a horse that had a dry mouth as opposed to a slobbery cow," Hansen told the Salt Lake Tribune.

Hansen's date with Reno, a sand-colored filly who took it all in stride, came after employees at Davis Hospital and Medical Center lost a tad more combined weight than their counterparts at the county building.

The Tribune noted that although Hansen was conveniently out of town during the county fair, two of his fellow commissioners were stuck and had to pucker up for a steer that one said "dripped drool by the gallon."

In order to make sure Hansen didn't get any big ideas about welshing on his share of the bet, the other two commissioners drafted a resolution setting up the good-natured rendezvous with Reno.