Horses loose in London gallop through streets, crash into vehicles

LONDON — Five horses from the king’s mounted bodyguard were startled at a construction site and galloped riderless through central London during morning rush hour before being recovered Wednesday.

One of the horses appeared to have blood on its chest and legs after colliding with a vehicle. Three soldiers and one member of the public were injured.

“A number of military working horses became loose during routine exercise this morning. All of the horses have now been recovered and returned to camp,” a military spokeswoman told The Washington Post. “A number of personnel and horses have been injured and are receiving the appropriate medical attention.”

The horses were from the Household Cavalry, which participates in the ceremonial Changing of the Guard and major royal celebrations. These horses are selected for their temperament and are trained to remain calm while working amid chaotic crowds and unexpected noises. Throwing their riders and bolting are highly unusual.

As statements from officials and eyewitnesses rolled in Wednesday, a picture of events began to emerge.

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Seven horses and six soldiers from the Household Cavalry had been engaged in what’s known as a “watering order,” which serves as both exercise and training for the sorts of sights and sounds they might encounter when on parade. They were just a day away from the Major General’s Inspection, an annual test of the regiment’s ability to carry out ceremonial duties for the year ahead.

The group was passing through London’s Belgravia neighborhood when builders dropped a load of concrete. Startled, four of the horses unseated their riders. A fifth, riderless, also bolted. Two of the soldiers managed to remain mounted.

The horses galloped through some of London’s most famous streets. A spokesman for the London Ambulance Service said the first calls, around 8:25 a.m., reported a person being thrown from a horse on Buckingham Palace Road and other people injured in nearby Belgrave Square. Another injury was called in from the junction of Fleet Street and Chancery Lane, known for their associations with the media and the legal profession.

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Photos shared on social media showed horses running by Victoria Station, one of the city’s busiest rail hubs, and along the Strand, a major thoroughfare in the heart of the capital. Their reins dangling, stirrups swinging, they wove their way around cars, bicycles and double-decker buses. One of the horses was spotted near Tower Bridge, and at least two made it to Limehouse — about five miles from Buckingham Palace.

The London Fire Brigade said it used its drone team to help locate them.

Members of the public were filmed calming a black horse near a tourist bus with a cracked windshield. “We confirm that one of our stationary buses sustained damage this morning during an incident involving horses from the Household Cavalry,” Big Bus Tours said in a statement. “One of the horses ran into the front of our parked vehicle. Fortunately, none of our team members were injured.”

The injuries on the light gray horse may have come from a collision with a Mercedes taxi van. “I was just sitting by the car with my passenger. … I didn’t see the horse hit my car — I was, like, smashed senseless,” the taxi driver, identified only as Faraz, told LBC radio. Photos showed the right passenger door of the silver van bashed in and splattered with blood.

Bashir Aden, a construction worker, told the Daily Telegraph that he saw a rider thrown after a horse ran into a car. He said one of his colleagues called the police.

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“The man hit the floor hard. He was screaming in pain. You could see blood all over the parked car,” Aden said.

Around 10:30 a.m., two hours after the incident began, the London Metropolitan Police said that all five horses had been “contained.” They were returned to their stables at Hyde Park Barracks.

The Household Cavalry is made up of the two most senior regiments of the British army. Soldiers are trained to drive and operate armored vehicles in combat situations, as well as to take part in the meticulously choreographed ceremonial events on horseback. They played a starring role at King Charles III’s coronation and at Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.

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