ARLINGTON, Va. — It's been a year and a half since Arlington National Cemetery last conducted funerals with horse-drawn caissons — considered to be one of the military's most solemn acts to honor it's fallen heroes.
The program was paused because of unsafe conditions for the animals.
In May 2023, the Army announced caisson operations at Arlington would be suspended for 45 days. To this day, they remain suspended.
Two of the Army's 3rd Infantry Regiment "Old Guard" platoon horses — Mickey and Tony — had to be euthanized within days of each other after the Army found that they had very little grass in their turnout fields. The horses had also consumed sand and gravel from the ground while eating the low-quality hay provided to them.
According to Major General Trevor Bredenkamp, commander of the Military District of Washington, The return of the military horses that have escorted caskets to gravesites at Arlington since 1948 is "on a good glidepath" to restart — although he did not offer an exact date.
He told members of the House Veterans Affairs Committee that resumption will depend on several things. That list includes securing up to 150 acres of land by next spring, repairing century-old stables at Fort Myer and improving training for handlers.
Bredenkamp said the conditions were a result of mismanagement, not soldier abuse.
"It wasn't that horses were being mistreated like purposely, it's because people were not educated in the right way in order to take care of horses the way they should be," he said.
Bredenkamp said 40 of the horses have been retired, and new ones are being acquired.
Lawmakers made it clear that they want to see America's heroes get the full military honors they earned, as soon as possible.
"Our veterans deserve the absolute best, and this is something that should not have gone away," said Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas.
According to Arlington National Cemetery, full military honors are reserved for commissioned officers, warrant officers and senior non-commissioned officers pay grade E-" and above.