Five military horses got spooked during a training exercise, bolting and weaving a path of destruction across the city before being captured. Several people and horses are being treated for injuries.
Five military horses — including one seemingly covered in blood — got loose in central London early Wednesday, galloping through rush hour crowds, smashing into vehicles and injuring several people before being recaptured.
« A number of military working horses became loose during routine exercise this morning, » a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence told NPR. « All of the horses have now been recovered and returned to camp. »
According to the ministry, six soldiers and seven horses from the Household Cavalry — specifically the Life Guards, the most senior regiment of the British Army — were conducting an « extended exercising of horses » around London, known as the Watering Order.
About a mile into their journey, as they passed by a construction site in the Belgravia area, the sound of concrete hitting the ground « caused the horses to spook. »
Five of the horses bolted, unseating four soldiers. Three soldiers were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and the horses kept running.
