Silke Jasso
The last time two Army horses were looking for new homes to live out the retired life it introduced us to a very rare process that takes place to find them a home.
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The two horses had previously served in the Army’s Old Guard at Arlington National Cemetery as caisson horses, working near 12-hour days, pulling coffins to burials on the hallowed ground. When it was time to live out the next phase of their lives, it went to paperwork.
“These guys did their service,” Staff Sgt. David Smith told The Washington Post at the time. “It’s their time to be a horse.”
Kennedy, then a 15-year old Standardbred, found himself on the outs with the Army after kicking a few soldiers. The other horse, Quincy, an 11-year-old quarter horse, had to stop working after a painful foot condition made it hard for him to stand for long periods of time.
The horses went to two homes, free of charge. But not just anyone can adopt one of these highly-trained horses. The Army has a thorough vetting process for the prospective owners with a six-page application, and it will make visits beforehand to make sure the horses will have suitable homes.
The application process contains four main parts:
1. Horses identified by Caisson for adoption and evaluated by the Fort Myer veterinarian to assess any medical requirements potential adopters may need to be aware of when considering whether to adopt a Caisson Horse. The Fort Myer veterinarian will write a memorandum which will provide medical details to those interested in adopting the given horse.
2. Horse adoption details published to Website. People interested in adopting a Caisson Horse will have 1 month to submit an application to adopt a horse from the first day information about a retiring horse is published.
3. After the 1 month period, a board will be convened by The Old Guard to match each Horse to an applicant. In some cases, more than one horse may go to a single applicant. In other cases, the board may find that no applicants are appropriate for a given horse
4. Each applicant will be notified of the board’s decision and arrangements will be made to transfer the Horse to its new home.
ADOPT A CAISSON HORSE, website.
Caisson rider Pfc. Kris Loudner says the horses have served with honor.
“I think one of the reasons to own a horse like Quincy or Kennedy is to have a piece in this mission,” Loudner said. “In a way, you’re tending to a horse that has honored America’s service members.”
