The animals bolted and threw their riders,made up of the Lifeguards and Blues&Royals servicemen,on Wednesday while they were leaving Hyde Park Barracks on their daily morning exercise.
Five military horses bolted through the streets of London after breaking free from a nearby training drill.
Lieutenant Colonel Matt Woodward,commanding officer of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, that “a small group of horses” were spooked by some construction works on a quiet road in the Belgravia area of central London.
He said building materials were “dropped from a height right next to them”,causing them to bolt “and unseat some riders”.
He said four soldiers were injured when they fell from their saddles,adding that one soldier had been responsible for two of the horses. Three of the soldiers were taken to hospital,as was one injured civilian.
Ambulance crews treated four people in three separate incidents in Buckingham Palace Road,Belgrave Square,and at the junction of Chancery Lane and Fleet Street,within just 10 minutes.
The spooked horses running through central London on Wednesday morning.PA via AP
Two horses were then seen running on the road past Australia House,the nation’s High Commission,near Aldwych,one of which appeared to be covered in blood.
A witness to the incident said a horse bolted across the street into a parked car before galloping away. Bystanders screamed and ran as the animal raced towards them,witnesses said.
One had earlier hit a double-decker tour bus,smashing the windscreen,and a grey private taxi,damaging its windows. Big Bus Tours said that none of its staff were injured.
Bashir Aden,48,a construction worker,told the LondonTelegraph:“I saw a soldier falling down into the street after the horse ran into a car. One of my colleagues called the police.
One of the horses collides with a taxi in London.PA via AP
“The man hit the floor hard,he was screaming in pain. You could see blood all over the parked car.
“The horses come down this route every day,but today the horse looked stressed or panicked. I saw the horse run away after it hit a bus. People were screaming and running all over.”
A spokesperson for the London Ambulance Service said it was called at 8.25am to reports of a person being thrown from a horse in Buckingham Palace Road,and the first paramedic was on the scene within five minutes.
Pictures and videos of two of the animals,one white and the other black,circulated widely across social media. The two horses were later caught in Limehouse,around six kilometres east of central London,City of London police said.
One soldier was injured when he was thrown to the ground.PA via AP
A black horse was seen close to the incident in Victoria,and a silver Mercedes-Benz people carrier had suffered severe damage to its side panel with two of its rear windows smashed.
Jordan Pettitt,a staff photographer at PA Media,witnessed the moment the horses came “hurtling” down the street in Aldwych,with the white horse’s front covered in “saturated rich red”.
He told Sky News the atmosphere was “eerie” as,despite it being rush hour,the street had fallen “completely silent”.
The horses of the Household Cavalry often have a prominent role in royal ceremonies in the UK and are trained for several months and ridden on the streets of London to get used to heavy traffic and loud noises,including gun salutes and military bands.
Woodward said the unit exercises around 150 horses on the roads and in parks every morning,partly to help desensitise them to city noise. The animals were receiving care from vets at Hyde Park barracks.
With agencies
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