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.

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.