Here is the final installment from the book Equine ER by Leslie Guttman about Slewpy’s Star, the Thoroughbred dying of pleuropneumonia. Last week, Slewpy was treated with experimental drug SLO and recovered enough to go home from the hospital. Today, we find out whether the mare continued to mend.

A month later, I accompanied Dr. Bonnie Barr and Dr. Alexandra Tracey, an intern, when they visited the mare to evaluate Slewpy’s Star’s lungs and check to see if any fluid remained in her chest. It was the end of July, and the grass and trees on the farm glowed green from the recent rain. Ed Frederick, Slewpy’s owner, wasn’t at the barn, so Barr ran down the path to his office to get him. With her bright red hair against the verdant landscape, the scene looked like a page from an Irish fairy tale.

Slewpy’s Star’s residence is white, with a green-and-white sign reading “BROODMARE BARN.” Above the stalls, old wood shines. Barr returned; Frederick wasn’t around, so she’d go ahead and check the horse without him.

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