Mango

I'm always talking about him, no one really know who he was. But everyone that did know him, nearly breaks into tears when they think about him.

Mango (AQHA- Mango Irish) was an ex race horse. After his racing career, he went to a barrel trainer who probably never should have sat on a horse in the first place. He ran Mango hard and never really did slow work on the pattern. Mango turned into a devil of a horse, "pyscho" they called him. He would rear up in the alley way, nearly flipping over. He'd get so crazy on the pattern, he'd nearly jump the barrels. Mango went up for sale at the age of a 11, and a girl named Ashley bought him. She was scared to death of him, so he was then sent to Karen Hill for training. She got Mango into the kind soul everyone knew him to be. Karen was my best friends mom, and the first time I ever went over to their house, I was placed on Mango. Kasey thought it would be an awesome idea to race. Bareback. Nowadays, I'd be perfectly fine with that idea! But at that point I had been scared to lope a horse since Dream bucked me off the first time. Well, Kasey took off infront of me, and Mango followed. However, everytime I'd nearly fall off, he'd break back down to a trot and let me regain my balance. I was hooked on him after that. I learned how to ride again on him. I wasn't scared to lope anymore, infact, all I wanted to do was to go FAST. I was heart broken when Kasey said they had to sell Mango (He was around 17 at this point), they just had too many horses. I was terrified because I was in love with this horse, and I didn't think my parents would let me have him. Karen talked my parents into coming out and watching me ride him. I loped circles all around the pasture and jumped, bareback, something they had never seen me do. They thought about it, and finally they decided he could be mine. The next 3 years I spent with Mango were the best years of my life. I went to who knows how many rodeos with him. I'd spend all summer at Kasey's, and I'd bring him along with me. When it would rain, we'd ride him double through the creeks and puddles that formed in her pastures. I took him to Nationals for drill down in Texas, and every morning I'd get up super early to make sure he was the cleanest, fittest horse there. No one expected a horse like Mango to do what he did, but he did it. Better than any other horse could. I would hop on him bareback in the round pen and lope around, no bridle or anything. He was the best horse a girl could ever ask for. He was sweet, never bit or tried to kick. He was the only horse on the Varsity drill team that didn't have to be walked a million times by the bucking shoots, he wasn't scared of anything. I never though anything would ever happen to Mango, he was tough, nothing phases a horse like him....
Mango was known for choking, and he did several times with me, but we never had to call a vet. He'd normally cough it back up, or we'd take the water hose and let water run down his throat and it would clear up. However, when I was spending the night at my grandmas, my brother randomly showed up and was like "Mango is choking" okayyy why didn't I get a phone call?! We ran back to my house and my mom wouldn't stop saying "its all my fault I'm sooo sorry!" She had forgotten to soak Mango's feed. Kasey and Karen were already there, and they said the vet was on the way, so I knew it must be bad. I cried when I walked in the barn and saw him in his stall. He was moaning in pain and trying so hard to clear his throat. After about the worst hour of my life, the vet finally showed up. He seemed to be an ameauter at what he was doing, and it took him a great deal of difficulty to clear Mango's throat. When he pulled the tube out, there was blood on the end of it. Something wasn't right. He told me he should be better by tomorrow, and if not to call him and we would put him on antibiotics. I stayed all day the next day with Mango in his stall. He didn't like having to be penned up. He rolled around a lot, never drank or tried to eat. I knew he wasn't feeling good, infact more of like intense pain. His eyes had lost his sparkle, he just seemed like a shell of himself. I went to bed that night hoping a miracle would happen in the night, that he would be better and have eaten all of his hay in the morning. Far from it. My mom woke me up around 6 to say we were taking him to the vet, he had a bad nose bleed. My mom told me to take a shower, and like an idiot I did. I wish I had known those were the last few minutes of my horses life. My mom came in screaming, "He's dying he's dying!".. I ran out into the barn in nothing but my robe, I didn't care about how cold it was. He was laying in him stall, eyes open, his head pressed hard against the wall with his legs in the weirdest postions. I just sat down by his neck and cried my eyes out for hours..I didn't want him to be gone. Just two days ago I had rode him around the pasture and made plans for next year with him. A few of my friends came over to say goodbye to him...everyone loved Mango. I called up Kasey to tell her what happened, and she cried her eyes out, but her mom made her go to school. I stayed all day with Mango. My dad had drug his corpse onto a flat bed trailer, and we covered him up in a blanket so the neighbors wouldn't freak out on us, but we left his face unncovered. Sassy and Dream stayed close to him all day. At around 9 that night, we took Mango to be burried at Kasey's house, next to two of his deceased pasture buddies, I.D. and Duke. I could hardly watch him be picked up by his back legs and lowered into his forever home. I screamed "I love you Mango" until my voice went hoarse. I got inside the hole and gave him one last kiss, and scratched his lucky sock one last time. I didn't watch them burry him, but I did keep some of the dirt from that night, I still have his shoes, and I cut off a little bit of his tail and mane. These are just sad reminders of my best friend.