In Part 3 of this excerpt from the book Equine ER, Thoroughbred Slewpy’s Star contracts pleuropneumonia, and the infection is proving to be a fierce opponent. 

Slewpy’s Star is from Oak Haven Farm, a small place in Midway, Kentucky, owned by Linda and Ed Frederick. The horse came to Oak Haven about four years ago from Texas, where the Fredericks have a partner, as a foal at her dam’s side. They raised the foal and sent her back down to Texas for her race career. The dam’s sire was champion Seattle Slew, and she went on to have several more fillies and a colt. A dynasty was born; nearly all the offspring have Slewpy in their names. The colt was nice, the fillies weren’t.

“They’re mean,” Ed Frederick says affectionately of all the female Slewpys, “That’s the kind of race filly you want