Two horses in a ‘serious condition’ after running loose in central London, minister says

Two Household Cavalry horses which broke free and ran through the streets of London on Wednesday are in a “serious condition,” a British government minister has said.

Two Household Cavalry horses which broke free and ran through the streets of London on Wednesday are in a “serious condition,” a British government minister has said. Six soldiers and seven horses were taking part in an exercise on Wednesday morning when the animals became spooked after some concrete fell off a conveyor belt being used in nearby construction work and hit the ground, according to the British Army. The army said in an update on X on Thursday that five horses tried to bolt and four broke loose. Three soldiers were injured but are expected to recover fully and return to duty, the army added. “What I can say is that 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 them,” UK defense procurement minister James Cartlidge told local radio station LBC Thursday. Host Nick Ferrari asked if the pair would “pull through,” to which Cartlidge responded that he “wouldn’t want to speculate,” but the animals were in a “serious condition.” Cartlidge went on to emphasize that an incident like this is “very exceptional,” adding that the army has horses out on exercise in London every day.