Largo: A Short Story

Largo

Through the duration of my time riding horses, especially starting out, there were always a few legends. One of those being Largo; he was known for his unforgiving nature and attitude. I never had the chance to ride him before he retired. He acted as if he was a retired bronco at times. He mostly lived in the large pastures directly beside Shelton; however, he retired at a farm in Moundville until his last moments. Everyone was getting ready to ride in the barn on this sunny day. Suddenly, my trainer of about ten years, Shannon, receives a call from Mary Katherine. This resulted in the interruption of mine and Jessica’s agendas, we both were grooming our horses before we rode. I was told to grab a syringe and a bottle of Banamine. This was the day I learned to live and let die. As we were barreling down the driveway, you could hear the gravel kicking up underneath the truck. I finally asked what we were doing. She told me,” Mary Katherine said there’s something wrong with Largo. He keeps rolling underneath the barbed wire fences for some reason”. Immediately we unanimously assumed it was melanoma. Largo was a grey horse, which means he was more prone to develop cancer. Mary Katherine has a long history with our trainer, Shannon, she rode and worked for her for years. We arrived quickly, and he was still rolling underneath the fences, he was disgusting.
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She explains, “If you two are going to do this seriously and professionally, you’re going to have to get used to this because they will die”. I always knew this in the back of my mind, but never acknowledged it much until now. I never understood how Shannon could be so nonchalant about this, she took care of this horse for years. Finally, they gave him the giant pink needle. He froze. He began to fall, so we all helped in laying him down gently. Dr. Character fixed his legs, so they were straight, and he could be as comfortable as