Partial Hayburner Reprieve
You may recall that last year the Pentagon announced they would be suspending the ‘horse’ units’ operations this year. The Military Working Equid program (and you know the Army can’t resist an acronym – MWE) previously had 326 horses, donkeys, and mules at 5 units on various posts. The Army has announced they will keep two of the units, at Ft. Cavazos Hood and Ft. Riley.
Almost all are used largely for ceremonial roles, tied to specific units’ history and heritage. The planned elimination of the MWE program did not include the horses used by the 3rd Infantry Regiment, or “the Old Guard,” operating at Arlington National Cemetery and Joint Base San Antonio.
“These programs provide unique capabilities and benefits that are difficult to replicate, and their continuation aligns with our broader commitment to readiness and community engagement,” Col. James Fuhriman, the assistant deputy for Army health affairs, said in a release. Task & Purpose
The Army did not say why leadership decided to keep the programs active at Fort Hood and Fort Riley specifically. However the two bases’ programs are being “formally established as Army programs and serve as a link between the Army and the American people through public demonstrations, educational outreach, and participation in local events.”
The U.S. Army’s history with horses and other equines is long, even stretching into the 21st century. Soldiers used horses well into World War II and Special Forces teams rode horses while fighting alongside the Northern Alliance in the initial invasion of Afghanistan.
Note that this does not affect the Old Guard, who resumed general horse-drawn funerals 9 months ago. Especially in Washington, the Army just spent two years and a boatload of dollars since 2022 to reset the program and upgrade facilities after administrations over the last few decades let them deteriorate. The rules have been changed for caisson usage at funerals, too. Per spox MAJ John W. Strickland in the caisson funerals recommenced::
Caisson funerals will be limited basis to two per day and up to 10 per week. “This is not the same program. It has been completely rebuilt,” Strickland said.When service resumes, horse-drawn processions will be limited to service members killed in action, Medal of Honor or Prisoner of War Medal recipients, senior noncommissioned officers (E-9), senior warrant officers (CW-5) and senior commissioned officers (O-6 and above). Stars and StripesTo vastly improve living conditions for horses, the Army sought the help of the best in the field, bringing in an Olympic gold medal-winning equestrian David O’Connor and qualified equestrian care expert Jim Westbrook. Army.mil
Trivia note: The first introduction of the newly -trained ‘modern’ caisson units was for Jimmy Carter’s funeral in January 2025.
Have to admit, personally. horses and I are not best buds in person. But there is little on this Earth as beautiful as a running horse (I have also been known to say the horses ploughing through the snow in “Silverado” may be one of the most beautiful movie scenes ever shot.) And, as too many of us know, the solemnity and emotional impact of that caisson bearing the coffin going by, or worse, stopping where you are waiting, is just hard to describe.
Category: Arlington National Cemetary, Army
Army shut down programs by and large because we have lost the skills to maintain horses properly as more and more youth become urbanites. I would say keeping only the Old Guard for funeral details was the right answer, but the decision was not mine to make. Hopefully the new management systems in place will make the Hood and Riley programs viable long term.
You obviously have never owned horses. It is not rocket science to train, keep and care for horses.
My Uncle Harrey’s Brookly NY Cav went down to the Mexico border with their horses to relieve BlackJack Pershing and later on his horses and his unit went to France
I do think it’s a shame that the Buffalo Soldier post, Ft Huachuca is losing their mounted unit. Another little bit of history gone.
I hated to see it go, but I understand why. B Troop was strictly volunteer, you participate on your own time and for the most part, your own dime. Huachuca has shrunk so much with 11th SIG departing that volunteers are very hard to come by. They haven’t had a budget to do anything outside of Huachuca for years, it just kinda died of old age. Still, a shame to end a tradition like that.
I am not surprised your Buffalo Soldier cavalry program expired from lack of volunteers. I was one of the two white officers of a 10th Cavalry reenactment troop for several years. It was extremely difficult to recruit young Black men as troopers who had any experience or were interested enough to deal with horses. We were in a major metropolitan area, and the unit ultimately died from lack of participation, even though we largely used rental horses for most of our guys and had McClellan saddles and tack loaned by a local collector of cav gear. But for about three years, we had some fun with displays, parades, and a couple of field marches and campouts.
I really wanted to volunteer in the ‘90’s, but just didn’t have the time to do it on top of the normal Army stuff. It was a great program but extremely time consuming.
When my teenage son and I were Civil War cav reenactors, it consumed us. I was still working as an attorney in private practice. Our club had nine events a year; and we went back East for the big events about once a year. I am still amazed at how I had the time for my job, that hobby, and the care of our horses. I even did a couple or Indian Wars events in Montana and Wyoming. I recall one event where I dropped off my son, the horse trailer and our horses at the event site on Friday morning, drove into the nearby city, took a couple of depositions, and then drove back to the park and our cavalry campsite that night.
I had my Thoroughbred cavalry re-enactor horse for 28 of his 34 years. He saved my ass, along with his predecessor, in multiple Civil War and Indian Wars reenactments, from being captured by the enemy. I am pleased to see that Hegseth has reversed the plans of the prior incompetent regime to get rid of most of the Army’s horses. IMHO, every light infantry or SF unit should have a fully trained mule platoon. Mules can pack equipment into places no vehicle can traverse. On 9-11 several SF operators were receiving mule training in the Rockies. That training was very useful in the A-stan a few weeks later.
There used to be a lady in her 60s at the time that would log trees out of Bankhead Forest and other places that gas engines weren’t allowed or the the govt, or property owners didn’t want the ground rutted-up. She had converted an old school bus into a vehicle to haul the mules and gear to her workplace. That was a sight to see.
Meanwhile, The Stones have called off their 2026 tour and are thinking of retirement because of Keith Richards’ health (he’s only 82):
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/music/articles/rolling-stones-never-believed-day-154026050.html
Well sonuvabitch. This is how the world ends.