June/July 2023 Issue

Page 6 June/July 2023 EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN Breed Demonstrations Caisson Horses Get Vacation to Improve Health and Performance By Chriss Swaney The U.S. Army Caisson Pla- toon has temporarily suspended operations at Arlington Nation- al Cemetery to develop a plan to ensure the long-term health and sustainability of the herd, according to Lauren Mick, media relations chief/ joint task force of the U.S. Army Military District of Washington, D.C. The military horses that carry America’s heroes to their final resting place in Arlington National Cemetery had been living in un- sanitary and potentially life-threat- ening conditions, including one horse found with 44 pounds of gravel and sand in his gut, accord- ing to a U.S. Army report. Since February 2022, four Caisson Platoon horses have been euthanized. The first two horses died in 2022 from colic, which was connected to the stable conditions, said Mick. Another horse was eu- thanized in October 2022 following a leg fracture. And in November 2022, a Caisson Platoon horse was euthanized after suffering from colic and a twisted colon. “This is just terrible and so troubling,” said Rabo Nijenhuis, a former driver for the H.J. Heinz eight horse hitch. In 2007, Nijen- huis’s family persuaded the H.J. Heinz Company to donate the eight Percheron horses formerly used as part of the Heinz Hitch program to the 3rd U.S. Infantry regiment (The Old Guard) where they were used to pay homage to fallen soldiers in ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery. “The horses we donated were taken care of, but I have no idea what has happened over the years. Certainly, the Army has a budget to properly care for the horses,’’ said Nijenhuis. “And when our donated horses were retired, the Old Guard contacted us to help find retirement homes for them. Everyone seemed to be very caring,’’ Nijenhuis recalled. The horses of the Old Guard rotate between Fort Myer and Fort Belvoir. The recommended acreage for healthy horses is one to two acres per horse; the pasture facility at Belvoir only consists of six acres – for 49 horses. To give the horses more space, the Army Military District of Washington developed a part- nership last year with the Bureau of Land Management to house some of the horses at Meadowood Special Recreation Management Area in Lorton, Va., about 20 miles outside of Washington, D.C. The Army plans to use approx- imately 14 acres to house and g raze 12 horses on a rotating basis t hrough December 2027. Congress even included an a mendment from Sen. Tommy Tu- b erville, R-Alabama, in last year’s d efense legislation that required t he Army to submit a briefing to C ongress on the care of the horses w ithin the Old Guard. Mick said the 45-day pause for t he horses is based on advice from v eterinary professionals and the h erd manager to give the caisson h orses time to recover and rehabil- i tate while the Army implements c omprehensive efforts to promote t he horses’ long-term health. The A rmy spokesperson also said the h erd’s recovery will be monitored a nd modified as needed, while d eveloping additional strategies to m itigate the impact of the temporary s uspension on military families. In hundreds of funerals at A rlington National Cemetery a y ear, six horses pull a flag-draped c asket on a 2,500-pound black a rtillery caisson. The caissons, b uilt in 1918, originally held a mmunition chests and tools for c annons, but now have flat decks f or caskets to rest on. E ditor: Just read Stephanie Lawson’s a rticle, “ Fragmentation, Aging Pop- u lation Threaten Horse Industry’s Health,” and was disappointed that there was nary a mention of carriage driving, especially since it was re- peatedly mentioned or inferred that as riders aged, they stopped riding. In my 70s and kind of “thick through the middle” I can no lon- ger ride worth didley, but I sure can drive a carriage and compete with the professionals, being able to continue my long relationship with the equine industry. I would suggest that market- ing carriage driving as a natural discipline progression for the aging rider would be one way to keep equestrian participants active as they age. Fragmentation is definite- ly an issue, and it will take the largest equine associations like USEF, ADS, AQHA, the indus- try breed associations, equine organization,ns etc. collaborating and working together to keep our horse industry healthy. Nickers & neighs, Gail Aumiller, Dreams Come True Farm Carlisle, PA