Dr. Pepper. The horse that broke my little girl’s heart. He wasn’t much; but he was her horse, her first. He came from a YMCA camp and he was old, and not fast, and not a big animal and he only knew WALK and TROT; but he was just right, and she rode him wearing pink cowboy-boots..pink boots that sat on the floor by her bed at night. And she learned on him; and he was strong for her. She went to his stall and gave him treats every day. Once, we took him and put him in a stall over by our house, but he didn’t want to stay. Something upset him about moving to a strange place all by himself..he got spooked! so back to the stables he went, with others like him. And there, he did well. She rode him out on the trail a lot, and in contests. One afternoon, in the home-stretch at that event..he found a gallop! we don’t know where; and they won! and so it went..until one day it was time for her to give him up. So we trailer’d him down to a place way out in the desert that took old horses, who outlived their use..for some. She led him into a corral as the sun fell, and said goodbye to him, “Goodbye, Dr. Pepper!” That was his name she gave him when he first came to her..with love. And it was just him, and her in that corral, in darkness, saying goodbye to her first horse..wearing pink cowboy-boots, and petting him, telling him it was alright. And I imagine, too, there were some tears, tears in the sand of a corral, isolated..at night, hugging his neck with tears, tears, and a lot of love. And only the warm earth shared their secret..petting tears that fell in the hair of an old horse, and onto the soft sand. She went back to visit him once, to check on him. Children were riding him, happy..waiting in line. He never looked back. And it has been a long time since we saw pink cowboy boots; and Dr. Pepper, a horse we once knew, and shared.