US Army scale down equine programme in its efficiency crusade
The US Army’s equestrian activity detracts from its lethality; at least that is the assessment made within the Department of Defense (DoD) in its latest cost-saving measures.
Moving on from the days of Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, the government will look to save as much as $2m in cuts to the Army’s Military Working Equid (MWE) programme, which includes horses, mules, and donkeys owned by the DoD and housed on Army installations.
Efficiency crusade
Under the administration of President Donald Trump, and executed by the US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the DoD are undertaking a sweeping overhaul of institutional structures and policies, ensuring these all align with its loosely defined ‘America First’ doctrine.
Among their principles, the administration seeks to distribute funds to more lethal defence programmes such as hypersonics and the Golden Dome air and missile defence shield.
Previously, the DoD put an end to DEI-related policies and projects, even removing transgender personnel from the armed forces. Many projects are currently in review, including the trilateral AUKUS programme with Australia and the UK, which was formerly considered beyond reproach. Under AUKUS, the US will send American nuclear knowledge and Virginia-class attack submarines to Australia, among numerous other defence efforts pursued among the trio.
On 7 July, the Chief DoD spokesperson Sean Parnell said that the Trump administration will continue to provide Ukraine with unspecified defensive weapons, but maintained that the evaluation of defence priorities across the department are still ongoing.
Army Technology contacted the DoD to clarify whether US military assistance to Ukraine is now beyond reproach after months of speculation and a brief pause on the sharing of military intelligence in March. However, the department did not respond for comment before publishing.
Horses in modern warfare
MWE programmes will continue with The Old Guard caisson units at the Military District of Washington and Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, retaining the programme for ceremonial duties.
Installation commanders will have one year to transfer, facilitate adoption, or donate the MWEs to vetted owners according to federal law. The Army Surgeon General’s MWE Task Force, comprised of equine veterinarian experts, will provide oversight to ensure the MWEs go to appropriate owners.
Equestrian cavalry units were largely disbanded from the Army after 1939, leaving the mechanised – and increasingly autonomous – armed forces using horses for ceremonial purposes.
Meanwhile, Russia is said to have reverted to their use for logistics in Ukraine earlier this year.
A former adviser to Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs, Anton Gerashchenko, posted a video of soldiers from the Sakha Republic, Russian Far East, supposedly riding stolen horses in Ukraine on the social media platform X.
The use of horses and donkeys to transport ammunition is just one mode of transit among many that the invading Russian forces have resorted to, according to the US-based Institute for the Study of War.
Russian forces will also occasionally operate motorcycles, attacking in groups of three to four personnel to penetrate Ukrainian lines while evading uncrewed aerial systems.
