This collection of horse stories, based on my experiences, with occasional literary hyperbole to keep it interesting, is written for men, by a man, and I expect will never be read by a man. In all likelihood only women, including your wife, will read this.

Whether new to the game or a veteran, you might as well plan for the coming shift in your future. She will look at you, her arm still in a sling from the minor surgery she required after getting kicked by the horse you have always hated, and with her good hand, point at my small book sitting on the coffee table. "Melvin, that horse husband guy says we have to get some Metamucil for the babies, stall mats for the barn's center aisle, and I don't care if you have to unload it, I'm ordering a semi of decent hay from Idaho next year."

Happy horsin', Melvin.