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

WASHINGTON – The return of the horse-drawn caskets to Arlington National Cemetery is being delayed for months and perhaps longer, the Army said Friday, as it struggles to improve care for the horses after two died in 2022 as a result of poor feeding and life conditions .

Nearly a year after the Army suspended the use of gray and black horses for funerals, officials said they are making progress in purchasing new horses, obtaining better equipment and improving training, facilities and service areas. participation. 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 get the program working again. And it will take a long period of time to get enough horses to meet the funeral needs.

“We have every intention of resuming operations. I can’t give a week or a month or an estimate, but it’s based on requirements,” Bredenkamp said on a conference call with a small number of reporters. He said he doesn’t expect it to take years, but “it’s going to take some time.” He said he would not describe the delay as “indefinite,” but he repeatedly acknowledged the obstacles to restarting a sustainable program that protects the health of horses.

The horses are part of the casket platoon of the 3rd Infantry Regiment, known as the Old Guard, best known for guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier cemetery, located across the river in Washington.

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

The Army discovered 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 fed. The fields were filled with construction debris and manure and were only big enough to accommodate six or seven horses, nowhere near the 64 that used the fields when Mickey and Tony died, according to an Army investigation.

At the time, authorities said the conditions were due to poor management, a lack of resources and a poor understanding of the horses’ needs. They also said soldiers needed better training on how to care for them.

On Friday, Bredenkamp said the Army is struggling to find enough horses to purchase and to find nearby locations large enough for the horses to be kept and trained. The service is also purchasing lighter caskets and providing more extensive training for soldiers to 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. To meet this demand, without exceeding an adequate workload for the horses, Bredenkamp said six squadrons of horses will be needed.

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

Last year, the Army used a hearse or other vehicle to pull the casket. And at the funerals of officers who were colonels or higher, there is a riderless horse that walks behind the coffin.