Five British army horses escaped in central London on Wednesday morning, causing mayhem and injuring four people.
Two of the British army horses which escaped in central London on Wednesday morning, causing mayhem and injuring four people, are in a “bad state” Thursday, a British government minister said. “There were five horses that were all recovered. Three of them are doing well, two of them are unfortunately in serious condition which we will monitor.”, said Secretary of State for Defense James Cartlidge on Sky News television. These horses are called Vida and Quaker.
The incident broke out on Wednesday not far from Buckingham Palace, during an outing of a group of seven horses from the Household Cavalry, an elite unit which notably ensures the protection of the royal family and participates in various ceremonies . According to the army, the animals were frightened by a falling piece of concrete carried by a crane and five of them then galloped off, throwing four riders to the ground, three of whom were injured. Their lives are not in danger, it was clarified.
Galloping down the avenues
Stunned Londoners then saw them galloping frantically, one covered in blood, down the avenues of the capital, overtaking motorists, crashing into taxis and buses and frightening cyclists. A taxi driver told LBC that he felt a violent impact while sitting in his car, then saw “three or four horses” galloping off, leaving his vehicle dented, stained with blood and with broken windows.
Some prestigious army cavalry regiments have stables in the British capital, and horses are regularly seen around government buildings in Whitehall, Buckingham Palace and nearby Hyde Park. These riders notably participate in the birthday parade of the British monarch traditionally organized in June.
According to Cartlidge, it is “extremely unlikely” that such events would recur, with the army training without incident every day in central London with nearly 150 horses. But after this incident, animal protection associations urged the military forces to stop using horses for parades, believing like the British NGO Animal Justice Project on “the horses don’t belong to us”.