They’ll be missed. The U.S. Army has announced it will end most of its ceremonial horse programs. The United States Army horse program has been used for over two centuries by its cavalry units, but due to the rise of innovation, it has been used for ceremonial purposes in the last 80 years. However, not all the horses will be gone. CBS 42 had more details to report on the horse’s retirement and what horses will be left: 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 Trump administration has moved to cut costs across the federal government and directed changes at the Pentagon like reducing top military leadership positions that it says will promote efficiency. Pentagon leaders have faced pushback from Democratic lawmakers for spending on the deployment of troops to protests in Los Angeles and expected costs to turn a Qatari jet into Air Force One. 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. https://t.co/z96TCvSJsW — NBC News (@NBCNews) July 9, 2025 The U.S. Army used horses from the 1st Cavalry Division in their 250th anniversary military parade in Washington D.C. WTOP shared details on the horses used in the recent parade: One of the featured events of the Army’s 250th birthday festivities is a parade through Constitution Avenue, and one of its featured participants is part of an Army division wrapped in history. The 1st Cavalry Division has roots dated back to 1855, participating in every major conflict and war the United States has been a part of. Considered “America’s First Team,” the cavalry was formally established in 1921 and remains as a historical unit. “Our mission is to preserve and maintain the standards of the U.S. Cavalry the late 1800s,” Sgt. 1st Class Kyle Minor with the cavalry unit said. This Saturday, 12 horses and two mules from its horse cavalry detachment will join Doc Holliday — a two-and-a-half-year-old blue heeler who has been with the detachment since he was a puppy — and fellow soldiers marching down D.C. in a covered wagon. “It’s just a huge honor,” Minor said. “And then for us to be able to represent kind of the foundation of the First Cavalry Division, it’s just really special.” Watch them in action here: "There's George Washington … on the horse that he would have rode into combat." The Army's 250th anniversary parade kicks off with the Army Band and troops in revolutionary garb. https://t.co/dNYG85K7G5 pic.twitter.com/YmfpzlutUC — ABC News (@ABC) June 14, 2025 WATCH: The Fort Sill Artillery Half Section makes its thunderous entrance into the military parade honoring the 250th birthday of the @USArmy, as six majestic horses highlight a proud American tradition. pic.twitter.com/DM9R7Expaj — Fox News (@FoxNews) June 14, 2025