A five-mile-long trail of blood and debris crisscrossed London when two one-ton cavalry horses threw their army riders and slammed into a tour bus and taxis.
According to the British army, two of the five horses were severely injured and have now had surgeries. While the others are being closely monitored, one has already been sent to a specialized facility for horses.
On Thursday morning, the Household Cavalry carried out their yearly inspection in Hyde Park. The Watering Order, an extended exercise of horses circumnavigating London, was led by six men and seven horses belonging to the Household Cavalry, most especially the Life Guards. As they continued their trek, they came across a building site in the Belgravia region. A loud sound caused the horses to spook. As terrified sightseers hurried away from the five horses that made up the Household Cavalry Mounted unit, police pursued them for almost five kilometers.
Near Buckingham Palace Road, the incident started at 8 in the morning when witnesses say they saw a serviceman being thrown off his horse during the exercise session when falling concrete scared the horses. One of the strays plowed into a cab, breaking its windows and injuring three troops. Three were sent to the hospital, while a fourth was thrown from their horse but remained uninjured, according to an Army official.
Witnesses of the morning rush hour chaos at the Clermont Hotel in central London recalled the “total mayhem” caused by the horses charging down the congested roadway. Two minutes after the two horses were seen racing down the road near Aldwych, medics were sent to Belgrave Square, which is encircled by Grade I-listed foreign diplomatic buildings. Several rental bikes left near the garden area from the 19th century were destroyed when the bolting horses plowed into an electrical box.
In ten minutes, ambulances responded to three calls and treated four patients.
The high-octane pursuit ended when the white horse bled profusely on the pavement of the dual carriageway, unable to move its severely damaged leg.
