Looking for a horse? Stars and Stripes has a story on how you can adopt one that has served in the military.
Kennedy/Washington Post photo
From their web site:
He received good marks in his early days in the military: “quite impressive,” his supervisor once wrote. But after he kicked a few soldiers, he swiftly found himself unwelcome in the Army.
Meanwhile, his buddy started out with similarly good reviews – “a big morale booster” – but found his military service cut short by a painful foot condition.
Now, the two retirees are, like so many veterans leaving the service, looking for their next homes. Preferably homes with lots of hay and some room in a barn. “These guys did their service,” Staff Sgt. David Smith said. “It’s their time to be a horse.”
Kennedy and Quincy, highly trained horses who have served in the Army’s Old Guard at Arlington National Cemetery, have finished their tours of duty. And both are up for adoption, free to a good home.
They have served in a role almost unique in the U.S. military, that of the caisson horse. Caisson horses pull coffins to burials at Arlington, bringing former officers and service members killed in action in America’s wars to their grave sites with haunting uniformity and precision.
The choreographed procession, led by a riderless horse, is one of the most solemn and stylized rituals in the nation.
Kennedy and Quincy performed it about eight times a day, every other week, in every sort of weather. But since they are now unsuitable – Quincy, an 11-year-old quarter horse, is having trouble with his feet because of navicular disease, and Kennedy, a 15-year-old Standardbred, acted out too many times – members of the public have the rare opportunity to adopt a caisson horse.
The horses will go free to two lucky new owners, but the vetting process is strict. Smith said that a herd manager from the Army will travel to prospective homes to make sure the horses find suitable places to spend the rest of their days.
Applicants can visit the horses at Fort Myer, the Army installation adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery. The six-page application, available online, asks questions including, “How often do you think a horse should be wormed?” and “If you go on vacation, what would you do with this animal? If you had to move, what would you do with this animal?”
Jenna Sears was the most recent person to make it through the vetting process. Now, she is the proud owner of Freedom, a 12-year-old quarter horse who had to leave the Army because of an eye cyst. “The caisson horses are known for being very calm and barn-proofed. They’re kind of the ideal horse,” Sears said.
Quincy/Washington Post photo
How cool would it be to become the owner of one of these beauties?
DCG