‘Too early to know’ if injured military horses will return to duty – Army

It is “too early to know” whether two military horses seriously injured after running loose through London on Wednesday will be able to return to official duties, the Army has said.

The animals underwent surgery overnight and were said to be in a “serious condition” by defence minister James Cartlidge on Thursday morning.

Four of the animals who broke loose have now been named: Vida, Trojan, Quaker and Tennyson.

Both Vida and Quaker were operated on overnight, with the latter being moved to an equine hospital in the early hours of Thursday morning for further specialist treatment, the Army said in a statement.

Vida was the grey horse seen in videos and images from Wednesday covered in blood galloping through central London, alongside black horse Trojan.

A group of seven horses and six soldiers from the Household Cavalry were on an extended exercise in Belgravia on Wednesday when they were spooked by builders moving rubble.

Four service personnel were thrown from their horses and five of the animals got loose, smashing into vehicles, including a double-decker bus, and causing a number of injuries.

A British Army spokesperson said: “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.

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

The Army said three soldiers who were injured would “recover fully and return to duty”.

Mr Cartlidge had earlier told Sky News: “There were five horses. They have all been recovered. Three of them are fine, two of them are unfortunately in a relatively serious condition and obviously we will be monitoring that condition.”

He added: “They are in a serious condition, but as I understand, still alive.”

Asked about the condition of two of the horses by LBC, the minister said he “wouldn’t want to say more” than that they were in a serious condition.

He added: “Obviously, we didn’t want that situation to happen. What I would stress to you is that this is very exceptional.

“You are probably aware that the Army has horses out on exercise in central London every day of the week.

“It is about 150 horses on average exercising every day.

“So this is extremely unlikely, this scenario.

“Unfortunately, we have seen what has happened, but all I can say is the crucial thing, as you said yourself, no serious injuries to the public as far as we are aware, and of course we will be keeping an eye on the situation.”

Ambulance crews treated four people on Wednesday in three separate incidents in Buckingham Palace Road, Belgrave Square, and at the junction of Chancery Lane and Fleet Street, in the space of just 10 minutes.

The drama began near Buckingham Palace Road where witnesses saw a serviceman thrown from his horse, and one of the loose animals crashed into a taxi waiting outside the Clermont Hotel, shattering windows.

Another of the animals crashed into a tour bus, smashing the windscreen.

Two horses were then seen running in the road near Aldwych, one of which appeared to be covered in blood.

Jordan Pettitt, 26, who works for the PA news agency, said the grey horse was “vividly” stained red with blood and he heard a black horse collide with a taxi.

The animals were later seen near the Limehouse Tunnel, before they were recaptured by City of London Police and taken away to be assessed by Army vets.