Two out of five Household Cavalry horses who panicked and bolted through central London are in a “serious condition,” a minister said on Thursday.
Defence Procurement Minister James Cartlidge said there were no serious injuries to members of the military and public during Wednesday’s drama. Three soldiers were taken to hospital and a fourth person was injured after the horses rampaged for six miles through central London , smashing into cars, a taxi and a bus before they were finally caught and calmed in Limehouse.
“Five horses have been recovered to the Army. Three of those are fine, but unfortunately two of them are in quite a serious condition, and we’ll be continuing to monitor that,” he told LBC.
The injured horses were named as Quaker and Vida. One of them, a white horse, was seen covered in blood.
Asked if they were going to pull through, Mr Cartlidge said: “I wouldn’t want to speculate on that. Unfortunately they in a serious condition.”
The minister stressed that it was an “exceptional” incident, with 150 Army horses exercising in central London on average every day. The animals were said to have been spooked by crashing building materials near Buckingham Palace.
Inspector Myles Hilbery, from City of London Police, described how two officers on motorbikes created a path for the horses to be steered into a horse box after they had careened across many busy roads.
He said: “This was a dynamic incident and the courageous actions taken by police officers from our Roads Policing team prevented further harm and distress to the horses and members of the public. The Standard View: How are we to fund defence spending?
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“Police Constables Lucy Hawes and Daniel McKeown risked their own safety to provide first aid to the injured and anxious horses. They kept the horses calm while waiting for a horse box and veterinary team to arrive.
“PCs Brett Daniels and Chris Wilson took over management of traffic control on the busy arterial road enabling PCs Rob Bray and Shaun Gurney on motorbikes to create a clear path for the horses to be safely led into the horse box and escorted back to the Army barracks for urgent medical care.”
