Return of horse-drawn caissons to Arlington National Cemetery delayed for at least months

WASHINGTON (AP) — The return of horse-drawn caissons to Arlington National Cemetery is being delayed by months or more, the military said Friday, as it struggles to improve care for the horses after two of them they will have died in 2022 as a result of poor eating and living conditions.

Nearly a year after the Army suspended the use of gray and black horses for funerals, officials said they are making progress by purchasing new horses, getting better equipment and improving training, facilities and participation areas. But Maj. Gen. Trevor Bredenkamp, ​​commander of the Military District of Washington, said it has been much longer and more difficult than initially expected to restart the program. And it will take a long time to obtain enough horses to meet funeral needs.

“We fully intend to resume our activities. I can’t give you a week, a month or an estimate, but it’s based on need,” Bredenkamp said on a call with a small number of reporters. He added that he didn’t expect it to take years, but that “it’s going to take a while.” He said he would not characterize the delay as “indefinite” but repeatedly acknowledged the obstacles to restarting a sustainable program that protects horse health.

The horses are part of the 3rd Infantry Regiment’s caisson platoon, known as the Old Guard, which is best known for guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the cemetery, located just across the street from Washington.

Two of the horses in the Old Guard platoon, Mickey and Tony, had to be euthanized within days of each other in February 2022. Both died of colon impaction.

The Army found that the horses had very little grass in their turnout fields and were consuming sand and gravel from the ground while eating the poor quality hay they were given. The fields were littered with construction debris and manure and were only large enough to accommodate six or seven horses, a far cry from the 64 that were using the fields when Mickey and Tony died, according to an Army investigation.

At the time, officials said the conditions were due to poor management, lack of resources and a misunderstanding of the horses’ needs. They also said soldiers need better training on how to care for themselves.

On Friday, Bredenkamp said the Army was having trouble finding enough horses to purchase and finding nearby locations large enough for the horses to be kept and trained. The service is also acquiring lighter caissons and conducting more in-depth training so soldiers can ride and care for horses.

Ray Alexander, cemetery superintendent, said there are 27 to 30 funerals a day, Monday through Friday, in Arlington, and of those, six to eight qualify for escort honors. In order to meet this demand, without exceeding the appropriate workload for the horses, Bredenkamp said they need six squads of horses.

Currently, he said, they have 42 horses being cared for at a professional facility in Virginia. Two years ago, there were 60 horses on the program, but many had to be withdrawn.

For the past year, the military has used a funeral hearse or other vehicle in place of the caisson. And at ceremonies for Army and Marine Corps officers who were colonels or higher, there is a riderless horse that walks behind the caisson.