Before puckering up, Davis County Commissioner Alan Hansen swiped on some lip balm and popped in a mint.

Then he let her have it - her being Reno, a 3-year-old, sand-colored horse.

The unwilling kiss was making good on a bet the County Commission lost.

County employees and Davis Hospital and Medical Center staff made a friendly wager to see who could lose the most weight. To add extra incentive to slim down, the winners' bosses would have to kiss a cow when contest results were announced at the annual Davis County Fair.

County staffers lost 397.6 pounds, just slightly trimmer than the hospital workers, and sent their bosses to kiss the fair's prize-winning steer.

Commissioners Louenda Downs and Bret Millburn kissed the stud - "that steer dripped drool by the gallons," Downs said - but Hansen was conveniently absent and missed that muzzle encounter.

So the two commissioners had staff put together a resolution that would make sure Hansen kept his end of the bargain, voted on it at Tuesday's meeting (2-1 with Hansen dissenting) and then led Hansen to the front steps of the Davis County Courthouse and to his equine sweetheart.

It took a few minutes for Hansen to build up the courage, but he finally gave Reno a quick peck.

"Go eat some grass and forget all about it," the commissioner told her.

But for all the ribbing Downs, Millburn and other staffers gave him, Hansen was able to take a swipe at the two commissioners: "thankfully, it was a horse that had a dry mouth as opposed to a slobbery cow."

mariav@sltrib.com