Sen. Tuberville suggests the Army ‘get creative’ in finding more room for Arlington’s Caisson horses

After two of Arlington National Cemetery’s Caisson horses died within four days of each other amid reports of deplorable living conditions and mistreatment earlier this spring, the U.S. Army has spent almost $2.5 million since March to improve the living conditions under which 60 remaining Old Guard Caisson Platoon horses, used to escort caskets of fallen service members and veterans to plots in Arlington National Cemetery, are currently living.

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, returned from a site visit to the stables at Fort Myer-Henderson Hall and Fort Belvoir, Virginia in May. He was not impressed and stated the Army had to do better than what he saw.

According to Military.com, the senator requested from the Army a better plan for accommodating the horses after they sent one that “wasn’t acceptable to me,” he said, adding that the most important issue, in his view, is the lack of space for the horses in the lots and pastures.

“It’s lipstick on a pig,” Tuberville said about the Army’s plan. “You got to have more room.” He added that the turnout area was “filthy,” and “manure next to the highway is flushing out into the streets when it rains.

“The young men and women that keep these horses, they don’t have near enough room for these horses to live in a sanitary position,” he said. “We’ve got to call upon the Army to step up and make a decision on some of the land that they’re not using properly or used at all — old tennis courts, commissary – anything where they can get creative to make this happen.”

The Old Guard told Military.com they are working with Installation Management Command and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to identify areas that need to be expanded but they gave no timeline for when that would be happening, nor did they say where the additional land would come from.

Earlier this year there were reports about the Caisson horses living in tiny lots filled with detritus, eating low-quality hay and inundated with parasites.

“It’s a sacred duty; it’s a no-fail mission,” said Tuberville. “We’ve got to do better for young men and women performing these burials. They deserve a lot better. The horses, obviously, deserve a lot better.”

According to an Army spokesperson, the facility’s lower lot was closed in January and the unit immediately made several changes recommended by the Army inspection such as the “procurement of better-quality hay” and feed; new mats, feed contract modifications and testing; and new horse procurement.

A picture sent to Military.com from Tuberville’s office showed mats under feeders in one of the lots, but he is said to still be concerned about space.

Based on a February report, the horses at Ft. Belvoir occupy a six-acre pasture that “even at one acre per horse, the current acreage constitutes only 18.8% of the recommended area for equine use.”