Two of the British Army’s horses, named Vida and Quaker, are in a “serious condition” after escaping on Wednesday, April 24.
The animals caused panic in the center of the British capital, injuring four people.
“There were five horses and they were all caught. Three of them are fine, two are unfortunately in a serious condition which we are monitoring,” Deputy Defense Secretary James Cartledge told Sky News.
The episode took place near Buckingham Palace, during the exit of a group of seven horses of the Royal Household Cavalry, an elite unit that mainly ensures the protection of the royal family and participates in the various ceremonies.
According to the army, the animals were startled by a falling piece of concrete being carried by a crane and five of them galloped off, knocking down four horsemen, three of whom were injured. Their lives are not in danger, it was clarified by the same source.
Stunned Londoners then watched the horses gallop wildly, one covered in blood, through the capital’s boulevards, overtaking motorists, bumping into taxis and buses and scaring cyclists.
Moment escaped Household Cavalry horses rampage through London pic.twitter.com/P5p4whYlXl
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) April 24, 2024
A taxi driver told LBC he felt a loud bang while sitting in his car, then saw “three or four horses” gallop away, leaving his car battered, bloodstained and the windows smashed.
Some famous army cavalry regiments have their stables within the British capital and horses are regularly seen around government buildings in Whitehall, Buckingham Palace and near Hyde Park.
These horsemen take part in the British monarch’s birthday parade, which is traditionally organized in June.
JUST IN – Two horses on loose in central London
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) April 24, 2024
According to Cartledge, it is “extremely unlikely” such events will happen again, as the army trains daily without incident in central London with nearly 150 horses.
But after this incident, associations for the protection of animals called on the military forces to stop using horses for parades, underlining, like the British non-governmental organization Animal Justice Project on the social network X, that “horses do not belong to us”. .
#Britain #condition #horses #caused #panic #London #Photos
