Subscribe
Almost two years ago in May 2023, a 77-year legacy of service was halted due to the death of two horses within the Caisson Platoon, Mickey and Tony, after they passed due to intestinal compaction. News coverage, congressional meetings and public scrutiny unveiled a collection of underlying issues. This led to the closure of Caisson Detachment, formerly known as Caisson Platoon, as the 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment “The Old Guard” worked to overhaul a legacy program and pull it into the future.
Within months after the shutdown, five key areas of improvement were identified: Personnel, facilities, herd, equipment and training. These pillars would help narrow their field of view when analyzing how best to move forward with the transformation of Caisson.
The first priority for leadership was gaining the insight of people that had spent their lives within the equine community. In December of 2023, senior military leaders invited equine experts from both the U.S. and abroad to the Army Enterprise Equine Symposium at Conmy Hall on Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Virginia. The symposium brought together respected figures within the equine community, strengthening the partnership between them and the U.S. Army, inviting valuable input on where to go with the Army’s military equine program, to include Caisson.
One of the experts whose attention Caisson caught was David O’Connor. O’Connor’s name is synonymous with excellence in the world of competitive equestrian events, earning gold medals across multiple competitions such as the Olympics, The World Equestrian Games and the Pan-American Games. During his retirement, he has spent time as the lead coach for both the Canadian and American Equestrian teams and served as the president of the United States Equestrian Federation from 2004 to 2012.
Shortly after the symposium, O’Connor was called in to be the lead equine expert in Caisson, a role perfect for him.
“It’s a 15-piece puzzle” said O’Connor smiling. “Education is one piece, horse care is another, training and finding horses, equipment, and the stables…”
“It’s the multi-piece of the puzzle that’s really interesting. I happen to enjoy that type of work.”
Lt. Col. Jason Crawford, former member of the Caisson veterinary team and newly assigned Commander, emphasized the expertise brought in.
“This has actually pulled people out both within the Army ranks as well as the civilian experts to give their opinions, thoughts and expertise to.”
With an insider track into the inner workings of the equine community, Caisson now had a path to walk, or better yet, trot, onto becoming a more refined unit.
The next challenge was securing new facilities, downsizing where necessary and updating existing structures.
Originally, only seven total acres of grazing area was available between the stables on Fort Myer and a turn-out pasture on Fort Belvoir. Analyzing where their energy would be best spent, Caisson leadership opted for the closure of Fort Belvoir due to lack of space and aging structures and stables. This loss was solved with the partnership of Northern Virginia Equestrian Center, or NEC for short, expanding the available turn-out area by almost sevenfold. Between their main facility and Largo Vista, Virginia annex site, around 50 acres of land, along with 52 stables, were added to Caisson’s facilities options.
The NEC also has an array of equipment to ensure continued health and conditioning of the horses, such as a hot walker, aqua treadmill and multiple outdoor arenas, stated First Lieutenant Joseph Holbrook, the platoon leader of the Caisson Detachment.
Beyond acquisition of new facilities, updates were also a main focus. Army-mandated Senior Advisor Visits helped identify deficiencies in the stables at Fort Myer, which had originally been built in 1908. Updated structure, air flow, flooring and stall size brought the horses living areas in line with civilian standards, with the most recent visit bringing the stables into 100% compliance with the original issues.
With everything in place, it was time to bring in the horses. What was previously a limited pool of possibilities for horse acquisitions due to restricted funding, a five-million dollar increase in Caisson’s budget opened a slew of options. Caisson and Regiment leadership built the visual criteria for horses to meet, and the health and trainability of the horses rested in the hands of the equine experts and Soldiers that would be their partners.
The horse applicant pool was opened to all black horses that met the height requirement for Caisson. While seemingly a small market to buy from, the original issue wasn’t with their appearance, but the prior training and age of the horses. With much more money to leverage than in the past, Caisson could get horses with a better propensity for training and longevity than those purchased in years prior.
The average age of the herd had previously been between 15-20 years old, Holbrook had mentioned. Today, that average is between 8-10 years old.
Crawford stated that when serving as a veterinarian for Caisson, he and the veterinary team focused on a pipeline of rehabilitation for horses still able to meet the physical standards, and retiring those horses that didn’t meet the eligibility requirements. The next step was procurement to rebuild the herd.
The first step for approving any new horses was a clean bill of health. Caisson’s on-staff veterinarians conduct a pre-purchase exam with each horse considered. Once given the go-ahead, Highly Qualified Expert Jim Westbrook, an advisor for Caisson with an extensive background in both competing and judging horse driving, along with the Soldiers that would eventually ride the horses, evaluated them on a five-point scale. This scale assesses the potential of the horses based on a multitude of factors, such as demeanor and responsiveness to instruction.
The equipment used in Caisson also went through a large amount of revision to arrive where it is now. The Caisson wagon that gives the unit its name, and the saddles worn by the horses, were the same ones used since the early 1900’s. The saddles and tack, the name used for equipment in the equestrian community, is taken care of by an in-house Soldier leatherworker making repairs and maintaining the leather and brass. In late 2023, work to improve and redesign each of these areas began, with the first piece of equipment focused on being the Caisson wagon itself.
Originally built in the early 1900’s, the wagon weighed almost 1.5 tons, coming in at 2800 lbs. The wagon went through two iterations, with the third one designed by the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, more commonly referred to as DEVCOM. This implemented version cut more than half the weight of the original, coming in at 1205 lbs. It also improved the efficiency of the first design, improving upon the wheels, now rubber, and having a limber pole that acts as a suspension for the wagon. The wagon's ability to move with the many ups and downs of the hills in Arlington National Cemetery and distribute the weight prevents it from being consistently on the horses. This iteration isn’t the end product however, with a fourth version in development with an estimated debut during the fiscal year of 2025.
The saddle improvements greatly assisted the health of the herd as well. Saddle makers Circle Y worked with Caisson throughout the entire process, with their saddle master Daniel Nephew doing custom measurements and fitting before production and working with his team throughout to ensure they fit the horses and provided the comfort and performance necessary for the horses' mission.
With the physical groundwork laid, the Soldier and horse training was the next pillar set for transformation. Training had previously been a word-of-mouth approach, with learned knowledge being passed from Soldier to Soldier. This had a high likelihood of gained information and best practices lost as personnel transferred in and out of the unit. Any written regulation was either very minimal, a single standard operating procedure written by Caisson in 2015 outlining daily duties and timelines, or severely outdated, with the Field Artillery Mounted Instruction Manual from 1942 being the last Army written equestrian regulation.
Without having a framework for personnel to follow, the same issues in time would arise. Equine experts were brought in and contracted, to ensure stability in the training process and curriculum, instead of the standard duty station tour of 2-3 years a Soldier serves in The Old Guard. Training was also cemented in doctrine. Since the contracting of equine expert trainers, 90 new standard procedures have been written and approved with their oversight. In addition to the Basic Horsemanship Course conducted locally in Virginia, an Advanced Horsemanship Course focusing on horse driving and the Caisson Detachment’s signature Postillion riding style was added to their training curriculum and is conducted in Ocala, Florida.
Holbrook spoke highly of the new training program.
“There’s a plethora of experience from the equestrian realm, from driving instructors to people that specialize in desensitization training, people that specialize in dressage riding…,” said Holbrook. “...just people that show our soldiers how to handle horses correctly or tend for them in a specific way.”
These multitude of changes drastically transformed the Caisson Detachment. In the span of two years, a 77-year legacy was reformed and revitalized. This brought forward a tradition of honoring American service members in line with modern science, and creating programs, partnerships and practices that would allow Caisson to sustain itself well into the future.
Staff Sergeant Cody Kramer, a senior instructor in Caisson, is confident of their success going forward.
“I think we’re more than ready.” Kramer said. “We’ve hit all the checkmarks leading us into Arlington National Cemetery to continue on and execute the mission.”
| Date Taken: | 04.08.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.08.2025 16:38 |
| Story ID: | 494880 |
| Location: | FORT MYER, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 48 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Riding Forward: Pulling Caisson Detachment into the Future, by SSG Jacob Lang, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
