OklahomaHorses Magazine November 2021

10 OklahomaHorses • November/December 2021 joints, and parasite medication. She doesn’t eat hay now. The senior feed provides what she needs, but Spot still grazes on grass. She sucks the juice out of it and spits out the wads she can’t chew. She has lost some teeth.” Spot has never had any serious illness. She has checkups and shots every six months from DeRoy White, DVM, who has been the Rosells’ veterinarian since 1983. It would be interesting to know whether Spot’s longevity is genetic, Rosell says. “I’ve often wondered if she had parents or other family members who were long-lived like she is.” Rosell says Spot is laid back and sociable with other horses and people. Although she has no offspring of her own, she is very motherly with the neighbor horses. They meet and talk at the fence corner, and she keeps on eye out for where they are and what they are doing. Spot is very good and patient with children, Rosell says, and the Paczkowski youngsters —Talley, aged 10, and Piper, aged nine — have learned to ride her. Rosell is very careful about who she permits to ride Spot and favors women and girls. The Rosells don’t know Spot’s exact birthday, but they celebrate every year in March because that is the month when she was adopt- ed. “We put a pink bow on her and sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to her,” Rosell says. “And for Christmas, she wears a string of bells with her winter blanket.” The Rosells and Spot share more than riding, games, and celebra- tions. They have a very close bond. “Spot is such a special part of the family,” Rosell says. “We keep her close. I can look out of almost any window in the house and see her at any time.” And every night, Rosell and Spot “hug and pray together. We pray for our family and friends and the world.” Spot can seem serene, Rosell says. “But she can still take off like a streak of lightning. She has those quarter horse genes” — and maybe some fleeting memories of her long-ago racing days. Brittney Ashton Paczkowski and Spot enjoy an amble on a September evening. The two were a winning team at horse shows for 10 years. The black spots that gave the mare her name are visible on her right side. Susan Rosell and Spot go in for a bit of English riding in the early fall sunlight.