Arcadia’s Horse (guest blog)

By Meredith Babeaux Brucker

On Arcadia Avenue, near La Cadena, there is a long stretch of wood board fencing which seems out of place in this area of condominiums.

When you get out of the car and peer over the fence, the sight is even more surprising. It is a sandy horse corral, and until a few weeks ago, it was inhabited by a beautiful big white horse.

About once a month, after picking up my grandson at nursery school, we would stop there to visit the horse and bring carrots or apple pieces. I’d make a loud clicking noise with my teeth, and clap my hands, and this beautiful animal would slowly make his way across the large yard to hang his head over the fence and be petted and fed. This reminded me of my early days in Arcadia, where small chicken ranches and homes with large victory gardens filled this neighborhood.

At first my grandson was terrified. He is more used to animated animals, or picture book cartoons of animals than he is to the real thing, and that’s why I encouraged these visits. This was a real flesh-and blood creature, sometimes snorting and tossing his big head, and sometimes exposing big yellow-white teeth as he bit into his treats.

I had once met the horse’s owner, Arly Barton, at a Chamber event, and she told me the horse was named Silver Dust. She said he and his brother used to pull their beautiful Cinderella carriage around Disneyland, but now Dusty was grieving for his brother (click here for video of Bartons and photos of Dusty pulling carriages).

Once when I took my grandson to Clockers’ Corner at Santa Anita Park race track for breakfast, he spotted a beautiful grey thoroughbred race horse speeding by at his early-morning workout, and he was sure that he was Dusty and kept calling to him.

On our most recent visit this week with a bagful of carrots in hand we encountered a tiny sign affixed to the fence. It informed us that Silver Dust has passed away on February 20 at age 36.
“We miss him dearly,” the note said, and was signed “The William Barton Family.”

Hey, Bartons, we miss Dusty, too!  Another bit of Arcadia’s rural past has gone.