Rosita
1981 - 2009
Rosita N-14403 was imported to Vermont as a three-year-old. She was foaled in Norway in 1981. She is out of Senorita N-14364 and by Rodin N-1799. In September 1984, she was imported to Vermont by Judith Wingerter and her husband. She had four foals for them. In October 1989, she was then transferred to Jane Amsterdam. She had three foals for Jane. In October 1994, she was transferred to E. J. and Pamela Stewart Cothey. She had one foal for the Cothey’s. In March 1998, she was transferred to Ceacy Henderson. She had three foals for Ceacy. In January 2003, she was transferred to me and her final home. She passed away on September 21, 2009, after giving her all for the fjord breed in the USA.
She has 155 progeny over 5 generations registered with the NFHR. The most notable are white dum mare FG Lakita, and white dun stallions Bayshore Simen and Bayshore Sno Drift.
We have recorded miles with the New England Horse and Trail group. For the few years we were riding she was awarded High Point Fjord for the year. Among her other accomplishments, she participated in Equitana USA in Tennessee, and Equine Affaire in Massachusetts to represent our beloved fjord horses. She was painted by a local artist and her portrait is sold in print, on coffee cups, notecards, and shirts. The print even made the cover of Massachusetts Horse in the February/March 2004 issue. She made the first-ever Fjord and Friends Fun Fest in Blowing Rock NC. Then attended the FFFF twice as she was getting too old to make the 1,000-mile trip.
I got Rosita when she was 22 years old and pregnant with her last foal. It was a cold January day when we picked her up from Felicity Farm. I wasn’t sure I wanted to stay with horses because my last horse had just about tried to kill me. The trust factor had to be gained all over again.
I can remember the first time I rode Rose. Austin had to ride her first because I was too afraid to try. When nothing happened to him I did get on. What a difference from my quarter horse. She was so relaxed and confident in what she was doing. I could finally relax on a horse and have a good time. We rode for hours and hours on trails through the woods, up Northfield Mountain, Lake Dennison, and all over New England and North Carolina. We took good care of each other.
When she got older, I felt riding was too much for her so I began driving her more often. That is when we really started having fun. Her childbearing years were behind her and it was just her and I out on the trails. She was like driving a tank out in the woods. We would go through trees, bushes, mud, stone walls, and the occasional downed tree.
April of her 28th year was the start of her final journey. For some reason, she stopped eating hay and her breath smelled something awful. The vet put her on antibiotics thinking she had an infected tooth. A couple of weeks later we had the dentist come out to remove the “loose tooth”. She went back on antibiotics for a couple more weeks. The smell was so bad coming from her mouth the dentist had to stop a couple of times and get some fresh air. He came back again a couple of weeks later as she was still spitting out grass and not swallowing. He suggested another vet for a second opinion. The new vet came the next day and I showed her the “piece of tooth” and she quickly announced it was not a tooth but a piece of wood! Off to the Myhre Clinic in Rochester NH we went for x-rays and a scope test. During the scope test, Dr. Myhre said she had squamous cell carcinoma. He swabbed both spots and sent them off. Imagine our surprise when the results came back and they were not cancerous! He wanted to see her monthly to follow what was going on because he was stumped. Rose had other plans. After weeks of trying to make her feel better and trying to get her to eat something even if it was soaked pellets, she decided to stop eating. The decision was made that she was not fighting to live any longer so arrangements were made for her to cross over the rainbow bridge.
