Horses Running Free in Central London

[Melontree]

I just saw this breaking piece. One of the horses is bleeding/has blood on it. They're both saddled and bridled - I can't imagine what's happened here. I'm sure there'll be an explanation at some point, but I truly hope the horses and riders are okay.

Anyone in the area seen/heard anything?

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/apr/24/horses-on-loose-central-london

Pretty stupid of the army lying that the horses are OK if it can be so easily disproved then

They are animals, not robots.

Blimey, @oakleaffy , that carriage driving chaos is quite something.

You know, for all that the modern, car-filled city seems potentially unfriendly to horses, I've read a lot of historic newspaper accounts of bolts in horse-filled days of yore. If you think banging off a shatterproof bus windscreen is bad, consider for a moment what used to happen when a bolting carriage horse met another carriage's shaft – or bystander horse was run into by bolter's carriage shaft. It was exactly as horrific as you'd imagine.

Then there were all the lovely spiked railings, non-safety glass shop windows, areas in front of sunken basements...

The accounts are shocking to read.

Strange to say, I think the modern city may actually have been safer for these bolters.

Were your father's initials J. 'T'. H., by any chance?

They get retired properly, in a place that wants them, with people who want them. Back an eon ago my parents had two. The were just taken on hacks and well cared for until the natural end. I remember one wandering around for a couple of years with a red blanket on him.

What utter twats dropped building materials from height next to horses? No horse is going to be on with something like that.

Yes... Did you know him? PM me??

Omg that's horrendous. A million things wrong there, why in god's name didn't they take all the buggies off the other horses immediately and get the drivers out. Why on earth were all those stupid people flapping about trying to be heroes and catch them? You're just going to get mangled. I couldn't watch it to the end, awful.

Today's incident was truly awful too, that sounds of clattering hooves on tarmac fills me with dread every time I hear it. So hope horses and riders are all ok. Re the cyclists and bystanders, don't think people realise how quickly horses move when they're bolting, agree re a lot of the newsreaders attitudes - bemused was one word yo describe the situation. You don't need to be a horse person to know that a horse galloping flat out, covered in blood and riderless in London is not a good thing 😥.

Bloody hell, the 2nd horse almost runs right through the middle of them all.
For people who have obv got lots of experience with horses, they make a complete ballsup of the entire situation 😳
Running at the horses, trying to grab them, waving their arms around, squealing.

I've just watched a YouTube video filmed today, mid-morning I think, of the horses at Horseguards Parade. There were two groups - one returning and one going out. One of the returning horses threw its rider, thankfully unhurt as he eventually managed to walk back in. But the horses were obviously unsettled. In the end, the returning horses went into the stables, and also the going-out horses as well, which is pretty unprecedented.

You can all tell I know very little about horses, but I assume that because they're a herd animal then feelings of unease from the original spooking could spread throughout all the horses, making all of them unsettled.

Definitely

I've been in a clinic before (like a group lesson on our own horses) where one has set off then calmed down, then another and it ended with them all on edge

They get a two week "holiday" in Norfolk. They spend time on the wonderful beach at Holkham. Looks a lot more enjoyable and a lot safer than central London...

There was probably a lot of human commotion in the stables with the search, the vets etc, and the soldiers ill at ease, which the horses could pick up on.

They’re prey animals and can behave unexpectedly as well-trained as they are. To suggest that the soldiers ‘allowed’ this to happen is ludicrous.

They done have a designated rider. They are allocated different horses every day so that any rider can ride any horse. They do go on holiday to the beach though!

We have a llama on the loose in Langley, BC CAN. 😂

I feel quite irritated watching the lovely calm man with the backpack go up to one of the horses after it stopped in the road, the man gently lifts his leg from the reins.

To then see this man the horse trusts to be shoved aside by a couple of large bossy women who commandeer the reins of the horse like they own the bloody thing

The man stays to calm the horse as obviously he's the only person it trusts right now only for more people to stand around the horse and possibly spook it further

Am I wrong

Anyway yay to man in the back pack

I haven’t seen this but he sounds wonderful and the others like they haven’t got a clue.

Yes, but wouldn't Household Cavalry horses be trained by exposure to this sort of thing?

Any animal, no matter how well-trained, can be spooked.

Something about this doesn't make any sense. Surely these horses would be trained to be used to construction noises and similar

I think that horse training is now outsourced to private organisations, to save money, rather than the army. It was flagged after the coronation when a few horses were not as calm as usual.

You'll have to excuse my mistake with the designated riders. I was just going on what my DS told me about his mate in the HC. He probably meant through his training - the friend not the horse!
But maybe DS misunderstood too 🤷‍♂️

I do know that his friend had never ridden a horse before!

According to forces.net, the horses are chosen for their height (at least 168cm) and strength as they need to be able to carry a soldier plus kit for a long period of time.

The horses are trained for several months and ridden on the streets of London to get used to heavy traffic and loud noises, including gun salutes and military bands.

Each horse is usually assigned to one specific soldier.

(from BBC)

You must have confused them with headless chickens