PICKLES AND DEXTER

told by Dorothy (Bennett) Bermond Oct 2000

 

John Inglis, father of Flora, would buy carloads of horses at auction and then sell them off.  In the process he acquired Pickles, a worn out mare that had been used in Colorado mines to haul ore carts to the surface.  When Pickles got to the surface, a whistle would blow.  It ruined her nerves.  She was stubborn and balked a lot.

 

When Andrew Bennett married Flora, John needed a wedding gift for the couple.  Never known for his generosity, John gave the newly weds Pickles.  He figured that this would satisfy his social obligation with minimal cost.

 

Unknown to all was the fact that Pickles was pregnant with Dexter.  Dexter was born as a beautiful Arabian with pink nose and hooves, long slender legs, bright eyes with long eyelashes, and a few Arabian spots.  I read about Arabian horses later in life.  Long eyelashes protect eyes from sand in the desert.

 

When John saw what a beautiful horse Dexter was, he felt that Andrew should give it to him since he did not consider an unknown, unborn colt as a part of the wedding gift.  Andrew, with some humor for sure, did not see the logic in this and kept Dexter.

 

We drove him to the buggy for years to Garfield Grade School and a lot to king City high School.

 

Dexter never gave up his high step and at 21 years of age he was not stiff as Dad said most old horses were.  Dexter’s coat turned white in his old age.  We had a quick rainstorm and lightning struck him just East of the house about 1922 when he was 23.