Rex the Wonder Horse

Old Rex was a true wonder horse. Rex belonged to Ruby Adell's Father, Chester Morgan Hampton. Daddy Chester's farm is two miles east of Wheeler Texas. Steve and Mark still farm land in the surrounding area. They are sons of Adell's brother Alvin Richard Hampton. We called him Billy when we were little kids, and Bill when we all got older. Bill and Marie are gone now and they sure were a big part of our life. Old Rex's team-mate was a grey mare named Smokey. They would pull all sorts of equipment, all day long, with a noonday break. Things like the go-devil which was a sled affair that cultivated one row of cotton at a time. At the end of the row Daddy Chester would call either horses name for them to turn around and line up on the next row. He would say "Rex" or "Smokey". He could even call out "Man" or "Lady" and they would turn as called. The horses would pull the sickle mower and hay rake in the alfalfa field. They pulled a wagon to collect grain sorghum heads that Daddy Chester would cut with a hawk billed knife and toss in the wagon. The team pulled the wagon to haul cotton, and a sled to haul a barrel of water out to the pig pen. When I would go to the farm, my job was to stay out of the way,  and clean my feet; at less than ten years old. Aunt Marie had three boys at the house so I would go with Billy and ride on Rex's back as he worked. Sometimes I was allowed to harness rex. On weekends Bill would saddle Rex and ride like a cowboy. Bill was younger and he would ride up to the barn at a gallop and jump off as Rex slid to a stop. Rex would stretch out his left front leg and ,curl under his right front leg, and lower his head down between his front legs, at the command to "Pray rex". Then he would  Rear up high on his back legs at the command "Hi-Yo Silver, whether you were on his back or not. Rex was gentle to a fault with us kids. The young man that trained Rex to do the tricks, only asked that he be cared for when he sold him to our grandfather, and he did care for them many years. Thank goodness I was not there when they loaded him in the trailer to leave the farm for the last time.

by Claude Morgan

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