Yesterday, two of the five British Army horses that escaped and ran wild in the center of London are in serious condition, according to Defense Minister James Cartlidge. The incident occurred during rush hour as seven horses and six soldiers from the Household Cavalry were on exercise near Hyde Park.
Chaos erupted when five of the horses broke free, with two racing along busy streets dodging traffic. Witnesses described seeing the chaos unfold, with one reporting that a horse collided with a parked double-decker tourist bus, shattering the windshield. An army rider was thrown and injured during the incident, with nearby buildings damaged by the runaway horses.
Four soldiers were thrown from their horses, and three of them were taken to the hospital for checks but were not in life-threatening condition. The injured horses, named Vida and Quaker, are being monitored closely for their conditions. Despite the dramatic incident, Cartlidge emphasized that the events that occurred yesterday are extremely unlikely to happen again. She assured the public that the Army regularly conducts exercises with horses in central London without incidents.
The Army has horses on exercise in central London every day, with around 150 horses involved on average. The London Ambulance Service was called to reports of a person thrown from a horse in Buckingham Palace Road, and City of London police were able to recover two of the horses. The injured soldiers were retrieved by an Army horse box and transported to veterinary care after being contained by police.
