Injured Household Cavalry horses 'may never return to duties' after six-mile rampage through central London

Two Household Cavalry horses badly injured during a six-mile rampage through central London may never return to service, the Army has admitted.

Defence Procurement Minister James Cartlidge said two of the five animals which bolted were in a “serious condition” on Thursday and confirmed there were no serious injuries to members of the military and public during Wednesday’s drama.

Three soldiers were taken to hospital and a fourth person was injured after the horses rampaged through central London, smashing into cars, a taxi and a bus before they were finally caught and calmed in Limehouse.

In an update posted on X an army spokesperson confirmed all three soldiers involved are expected to recover fully and return to duty.

A statement said: “Of the seven horses which were spooked, five tried to bolt and four - Vida, Trojan, Quaker and Tennyson - broke loose.

“Two of the injured horses were operated on last night, with one transferred to an equine hospital. All remaining horses are being closely observed.

“Our horses receive the highest standards of care, and those that did not undergo surgery are expected to return to duty in due course.

“We want to thank everyone who has shown such kindness and concern towards our soldiers and horses. We will provide more updates soon.”

A spokesperson added: “We are hoping that both these horses make a recovery.

“Whether they will recover enough to return to official duties, it’s too early to know for sure.

“But they’ve been given the best veterinary treatment possible and remain under close supervision.

“Vida was the most visibly injured and the pictures of the horse running through London soaked in blood were horrifying.

“Vida was operated on overnight and is currently in stables at the Hyde Park Barracks under observation.

“Quaker was also operated on overnight but it was decided to move the horse to an equine hospital in the early hours for more specialist treatment.

“The extent of the injuries is not completely clear but we don’t believe at this stage there are any broken bones.

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“The blood seen on Vida (the grey horse) was consistent with lacerations.”

The announcement came as the Household Cavalry was taking part in a parade for the Major General's annual inspection on Thursday morning.

Mr Cartlidge also told LBC: “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 that.”

The injured horses were named as Quaker and Vida, a white horse, was seen covered in blood.

Asked if they were going to pull through, Mr Cartlidge said: “I wouldn't want to speculate on that. Unfortunately they in a serious condition.”

The three cavalry officers who were injured in the incident are all expected to “recovery fully and return to duty”, a Ministry of Defence spokesman said on Thursday. One soldier was discharged overnight while two others are still in hospital but in a stable condition.

The minister stressed that it was an “exceptional” incident, with 150 Army horses exercising in central London on average every day.

The animals were said to have been spooked by crashing building materials near Buckingham Palace.

Four service personnel were thrown from their horses before the five animals bolted and spread across the city.

Two horses, still wearing saddles, were filmed racing down Aldwych during the incident of “total mayhem” and in one clip the pair were seen being followed by an unmarked police car.The London Ambulance Service said it received three horse-related calls including on Buckingham Palace Road where a person was thrown from one of the horses.

A horse struck a taxi on the street while a passenger was sat inside leaving a huge dent and shattering several of the vehicle’s windows.

Another horse also smashed into a parked tourist bus, punching through its front windscreen. A black horse was later seen bumping into a black cab in Aldwych.Two horses were eventually caught in Limehouse - five miles away from Buckingham Palace, where the incident began.

An Army source told The Sun Vida, the white horse that was seen soaked in blood was “lively” and had a history of being spooked.

The horse is thought to have kicked a soldier in the head during the King's Coronation, according to reports.

Inspector Myles Hilbery, from City of London Police, described how two officers on motorbikes created a path for the horses to be steered into a horse box after they had careened across many busy roads.

He said: “This was a dynamic incident and the courageous actions taken by police officers from our Roads Policing team prevented further harm and distress to the horses and members of the public.

“Police Constables Lucy Hawes and Daniel McKeown risked their own safety to provide first aid to the injured and anxious horses. They kept the horses calm while waiting for a horse box and veterinary team to arrive.

“PCs Brett Daniels and Chris Wilson took over management of traffic control on the busy arterial road enabling PCs Rob Bray and Shaun Gurney on motorbikes to create a clear path for the horses to be safely led into the horse box and escorted back to the Army barracks for urgent medical care.”

Mr Cartlidge conceded meanwhile that "it is a fact that there are more horses than tanks" in the Army.

"But of course, we do have hundreds of horses. Now, if you don't want that to be the case, you have two choices. You can either put down lots of those horses, or you can buy hundreds more tanks, which is extremely expensive," he said on Times Radio.

"Horses are a vital part of our armed forces, particularly for the British Army, ceremonially and operationally."

The Army has 213 main battle Challenger 2 tanks and 497 horses, according to MoD statistics.