After four years of service in the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Regiment, Bo the horse has been given the gift of retirement.
During his time in the service, Bo had the duty of delivering fallen soldiers to their final resting place in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., the Orange County Register reported.
Bo is a black and white, 1,515-pound Percheron breed horse, and was retired not because he was too old or wasn't able to do his job anymore, but because he was simply too big.
Bo was one in a team of six horses that pulled a two-wheel cart that carried caskets. Due to his size, Bo could only occupy one position in the team and as a result, was retired so that smaller horses could take his place.
Kim Perez and her husband, Navy Lt. Brian Roach adopted the 10-year-old horse as part of a new government plan to have retired horses publicly adopted instead of putting them on an auction block. This way, the Army can better monitor the horses' potential futures.
Perez first met the horse in Washington DC when she was in town with her husband who was preparing for a tour of duty in Afghanistan. When she found out the horse was up for adoption, she immediately knew what she was going to do, the Register reported:
"If you knew my husband, he is very patriotic; a former Marine, he went back in after 9/11 to show his support," Perez said. "I always wanted to encourage him to ride, but he said to me, 'The only horse I am going to ride is a soldier.' That's why we pushed to get Bo.
"I think Bo's very special because of the job he did," she said "The fact that Bo has served, it just makes him very special to me."
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After the cross-country trip to his new home, Bo is relaxing in the company of some chicken, ducks, a couple ponies and an elderly mare.
