It’s hardly the most pressing matter before us as a nation. The Army has announced that some Cavalry units will be deactivated, and the horses adopted out as a cost-savings measure. While it’s true that we, generally, don’t use horses in battle anymore, they were used by the ODA (Green Berets) in Afghanistan early on. The horse units now are mostly ceremonial or competitive. The cost savings is only projected to be about $2 million, which is hardly a drop in the bucket. We need to study this a bit more.
I wasn’t sure this piece from NBC News was true and I had to double check:
The U.S. Army’s history is closely tied to its cavalry units, those soldiers who rode into battle on horseback. But the service announced Tuesday that it’s moving toward a future without the ceremonial horses and will put most of them up for adoption.
The Army, however, will keep operating the Old Guard ceremonial caisson units at Joint Base San Antonio and Arlington National Cemetery for burial honors.
Ceremonial cavalry units will be closed down at bases, including Fort Cavazos in Texas, whose horses were showcased during the military parade in Washington on June 14, which was the Army’s 250th anniversary and also President Donald Trump’s birthday.
Army spokesperson Steve Warren said other ceremonial units will close at Fort Carson in Colorado, Fort Sill in Oklahoma, Fort Irwin in California, Fort Riley in Kansas and Fort Huachuca in Arizona.
The Army estimates that closing down the units will save about $2 million a year, and the changes are being made as part of its overall warfighting realignment, Warren said. The Army is giving the affected bases 12 months to shutter the units.
I get it. The Army is rightly focusing on warfighting and lethality. But are they being penny-wise and pound-foolish?
The Army’s decision to sunset ceremonial horse units—except for Arlington’s Old Guard—is a smart realignment toward warfighting priorities. Saving $2M annually by retiring 141 horses from bases like Fort Cavazos and Fort Riley proves even symbolic programs aren’t immune to budget…
— DOGEai (@dogeai_gov) July 9, 2025
Yes, the cavalry’s mounted soldiers today are armored fighting vehicles, light tanks and the like. Horses and associated skills shouldn’t be discounted. According to Task & Purpose, horses are no good for war fighting:
“This initiative will save the Army $2 million annually and will allow the funds and soldiers dedicated to [Military Working Equid] programs to be redirected to readiness and warfighting priorities,” according to the Army’s release. The “warfighting priorities” were not specified.
The Department of Defense currently owns 236 horses, mules and donkeys, which are housed and cared for on Army bases, Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Ruth Castro told Task & Purpose on Monday.
The one-year reduction will see the closure of MWE programs at bases in California, Arizona, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas: Fort Irwin, Fort Huachuca, Fort Riley, Fort Sill and Fort Hood. The Army will keep horse teams at two locations, including the 3rd Infantry Regiment, or “the Old Guard,” at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, which restarted its caisson services in June after a two-year pause following the death of two horses. That effort saw the Army invest more than $18 million in new real estate and equipment for the horses.
On the other hand, horses are high maintenance, but lower maintenance than many military vehicles and are better on different terrains.
The Army says these horses will not be sold and are part of the Army family. Not that they always treat family well. More from NBC News:
A total of 141 horses will be adopted outside the military, Warren said. Some horses may be donated to organizations, but none will be sold, he said.
The horses “are part of the Army family, we’re going to treat them with compassion,” Warren said.
The Army has just recently resumed caisson operations at Arlington National Cemetery after an investigation found the horses in those units were mistreated, left to graze in lots with little grass, leading them to consume sand and gravel. Two horses died in 2022, and caisson operations were suspended until earlier this year.
The totally sounds like the Army.
In this video from before the Army parade last month, cavalry of the mechanized and equine type are featured.
Honoring the history of the cavalry seems like $2 million is cheap at twice the price. They need the horses to maintain our humanity and you never know when you may need them again.
Featured Image: U.S. Army 250th Birthday Parade/Wikimedia Commons.org/cropped/Public Domain
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Author: Toni Williams
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