Two of the five British Army horses that bolted in central London on Wednesday before galloping through the streets at rush hour are in a “serious condition”, a minister said Thursday.
“There were five horses. They have all been recovered. Three of them are fine, two of them are unfortunately in a relatively serious condition and obviously we will be monitoring that condition,” defence minister James Cartlidge told Sky News.
The British Army later wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that the injured horses, named Vida and Quaker, were operated on late Wednesday, with one transferred to an equine hospital.
The City of London Police, who keep an eye on the financial district known as Square Mile, was able to reclaim two of the horses.
Two animals were held by officers while “the horses had been collected and transported to veterinary care by an army horse box.”
An LBC radio broadcaster reported that a Mercedes driver had been waiting outside a hotel on Buckingham Palace Road when he felt something collide with his vehicle.
He claimed to have seen three or four horses close to the car and that an army rider had been hurt after being knocked off.
Two horses then ran along busy roads, dodging buses, taxis and other traffic.
Three of the unseated soldiers were taken to hospital but all are expected to make a full recovery, the army tweeted Thursday.
A number of prestigious army cavalry regiments have stables in the British capital and horses are a regular sight around government buildings on Whitehall, Buckingham Palace, The Mall and in nearby Hyde Park.
Cartlidge stressed that Wednesday’s events were “extremely unlikely” to be repeated.
“You are probably aware that the army has horses out on exercise in central London every day of the week. It is about 150 horses on average exercising every day,” he told LBC radio.
“So this is extremely unlikely, this scenario.”
London Ambulance Service said it was called at 8:25 am (0725 GMT) to reports of a person being thrown from a horse on Buckingham Palace Road.
The City of London Police, who keep watch over the Square Mile financial district, was able to reclaim two of the horses.
While “an army horse box had collected the horses and transported them to veterinary care,” the officers held two animals.
A Mercedes driver told LBC radio that he felt something smash into his vehicle while he was waiting outside a hotel on Buckingham Palace Road.
He reported that an army rider had been knocked off and hurt and that he had seen three or four horses close to the car.
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