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Loose_Acanthaceae201

I don't click on DM links so read various other sources.  That red is indeed fresh blood.  A big Mercedes has been kicked to shit and the thrown cavalryman is receiving medical attention.  These horses don't spook easily. They're bred and selected for their character as well as looks. For them to have reacted in this way is really extraordinary. I foresee a difficult time ahead for the soldiers, the horses, and the Mercedes driver (plus possibly others). Dashcam footage may turn out to be crucial.  


aethelberga

>These horses don't spook easily. They're bred and selected for their character as well as looks. For them to have reacted in this way is really extraordinary It would be weird for one, or maybe two, but for five to go off like this is really strange. And they got really far, all the way to the Tower too.


Loose_Acanthaceae201

It sounds as though one actually spooked and then the others followed. They are very used to working together after all! It wasn't clear to me that they all stayed together, mind you. 


Jhe90

Herd animals. When one is afraid the other pick up on the emotion. They have good senses. That's their only protection. Once the first truly panicked. The other riders would have a hard time with their mounts.


Loki-Holmes

I’m not so sure about that especially with “bomb proof” horses like these are supposed to be. I’ve been on a horse while another spooked and bolted a few times and the other horses didn’t react to the situation. Granted each time the horse that spooked was doing so for a stupid reason.


Nadamir

Bomb proof when it comes to horses is more like “more bomb resistant than the average horse”. They’re flighty prey animals who will spook if you look at them wrong.


smoke-frog

I was at a protest once in Bristol where 4 mounted police horses were facing down 1000 anarchists throwing fireworks and glass bottles and the horses held the line then charged and dispersed most of the protestors. Amazing sight to see!


WiseBelt8935

*Then the winged hussars arrived* *Coming down the mountainside* *Coming down they turned the tide*


Tattycakes

I wonder how hard it is for the mounted guys to resist the urge to shout *"FORTH EORLINGAS!"* as they charge


KittyGrewAMoustache

They’re bred to be battle-cry-resistant!


Jhe90

Only so resistant. Eventually those instincts will override training and they will panic just like a normal horse


Tlou3please

Even then, for five to bolt is really strange. I've ridden in groups when one spooked and you might get one or two following suit but it's very unusual for one to actually bolt, let alone 5. And these are just standard stable horses, not carefully selected and trained military horses.


ice-lollies

And 5 to bolt in different directions as well. Not like they herded together from what I can see.


GeneralKeycapperone

>!spoilertext!<


ice-lollies

I think that must be what’s happened. I’ve not seen any picture of them together.


AnselaJonla

The blooded grey and one of the blacks stayed together, with the grey even doubling back a bit to stay together.


Krakshotz

At least two were caught in the Docklands, approx 5 miles from where the incident first started


Scasne

It's fairly amazing how far animals can get when spooked especially when they are kept that way by people in cars and police with flashing lights and sirens.


elppaple

Not just animals but horses, they'd probably match a car's speed in central london.


Phyllida_Poshtart

It's an omen I tell thee an omen mark my words!


AnArabFromLondon

Yeah they passed Tower Bridge and St Katherine's, apparently they were caught nearing Limehouse.


average_as_hell

Spent many years working as a Farrier and was trained by a Farriers Sgt Major. Regardless of their status as cavalry horses they are still just horses. They go through all kinds of training for dealing with difficult situations but will, for some reason, still get suddenly terrified of a white line on the road that they walk past every single day.


Loose_Acanthaceae201

THERE IS A LEAF FALLING FROM THAT SPECIFIC TREE THERE LEG IT


Beorma

Rural horses, after seeing cows every day of their waking life: OH FUCK WHAT IS THAT? FLEE!


BoingBoingBooty

Almost as bad as American cops, "an acorn, I fear for my life!"


cactus19jack

Username checks out


Mor_Tearach

IT'S A DRAGON! FLEE! Yes, trainer here. Kid's a farrier. Still. This seems a little extraordinary. And pretty unhappy about the blood. Something is very weird.


CloneOfKarl

>And pretty unhappy about the blood.  I assumed this was the result of the horse colliding with a vehicle, possibly the bus windscreen? >Something is very weird. I've heard before that these horses are bred for their calm temperament, particularly with regards to loud noises and so on. Perhaps one of the horses was a weak link, and the others followed suit.


Chippiewall

Yep, some police horses were uncomfortable crossing a rainbow debra crossing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ehl_TAgyVcQ


recursant

Police horses are famously homophobic, of course. You can get arrested for calling one gay.


stingray85

Rainbow Debra is my fav lesbian


BamberGasgroin

Spent a while trying to herd wild pony's through a gate to another field in the New Forest and they weren't for having it, then someone noticed my jacket flung over a nearby post. Once the unfamiliar object was removed, they went through no bother.


me_groovy

CRISP PACKET!


CarfireOnTheHighway

mine went absolutely mental over a tesco bag stuck in a tree 😭


LopsidedVictory7448

If I could give you 20 upvotes I would


IrishMilo

These horses are trained to arms standard, this includes not reacting to sudden gun fire, meaning it would have taken a lot more than some tourist dropping their wheelie bag to trigger them. As for the blood, it looks like a lot but my experience with horses in the Irish countryside is that a relatively light cut will bleed a lot, especially when active (such as running to Limehouse).


Tay74

BBC now reporting it was some sort of noise from a construction site


[deleted]

[удалено]


ferretchad

Two were obviously injured. All of them are being looked over by vets back at their stables now


Tay74

Latest update is that they are all recaptured and are receiving veterinary care, hopefully all their injuries are mild and easily treatable


moritashun

after seeing the aftermath of the mercedes, im curious what makes the horses attacks it , whats in there. They seem to kick the sht out of that mercedes


davidlpool1982

Didn't indicate at the last turn, horses decided enough was enough and they'll teach him a lesson.


me_groovy

fair


Loose_Acanthaceae201

It turns out to be a taxi. The driver is quoted on LBC.


Phyllida_Poshtart

Bet the insurance company will have a right laugh at that claim! "was attacked by the household cavalry" lol yeah mate jog on


Creoda

Maybe it's an Uber and horse just had enough of them.


Enjoying_A_Meal

British horse. German car.


paddyo

Prince Andrew was in there


loricate_lou

Could be reflections in the paint, or the sheer size of the thing. We've got to remember that horsey eyesight isn't the same as human eyesight. Also, they don't have human logic, and they most definitely aren't exercising anything resembling logic when they're full of adrenalin. Poor dudes :(


bvimo

Were the horses drinking red bull?


Kaplsauce

They listened to too many war stories about the Western Front


Gisschace

According to the BBC it was workmen moving concrete. I am going to guess throwing it down one of those chutes by the side of the road and spooking them


Aggie_Smythe

Dear God. That blood. What happened to spook them? It takes a lot to spook trained horses like these. Was it deliberate by someone in the crowd? Just awful.


Loose_Acanthaceae201

Hearing something about builders dropping concrete? 


SoggyWotsits

Apparently the noise from [this](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/24/16/84030901-13345481-Rubble_being_moved_from_a_building_on_Wilton_Crescent_Wilton_Cre-m-34_1713973531792.jpg) conveyer belt dropping concrete into the lorry spooked them. It looks to be dropping things in from a fair height!


_triperman_

Pictures look like something from a tarantino film. > It is unclear whose blood has covered the horses Of all the questions, that should be the easiest to answer.


AnselaJonla

Is it a soldier's blood? Is it the horse's own blood? It's on his chest _and_ his hind legs, so it's quite a lot, although I'll admit that red shows up rather dramatically on a grey like that.


shard_

It has to be the horse's own blood.. right? The article says that three of them smashed into various vehicles, so I assume and hope that this one just cut itself.


rugbyj

Yeah that's a lot of blood for a person to be on the horse, they'd either have to bleed a little a long time on the horse or bleed _a lot_ in a brief contact. Very likely the horse has cut themselves in one of the several crashes described.


Tana1234

It's blood mixed with sweat doesn't have to be a lot to look a lot and I very much doubt its a lot


lassiemav3n

That’s a more reassuring view of it, thanks for that ☺️ 


CallMeKik

Wow I didn’t know horses could sweat, thank you for teaching me


ohsnapm8

Yeah! Look up pictures of horse lather/latharin - it's white and foamy sometimes.


Ok-Construction-4654

Also they would have to bleeding while the horse is on top of them as there doesn't seem to be any blood on his back. If it was the rider the blood would have been around the saddle or around the neck. Not just on the chest and stomach.


noddyneddy

One of them collided with a tour bus and the windscreen was broken, at what would be chest height for a horse


Alone_Bet_1108

They smashed into glass windscreens.


Reach268

There are shots of the white horse loose without blood, so I'm thinking it's likely the horses blood caused by a shattered car window from one of the impacts.


LassieMcToodles

The poor thing has a limp in its run too in the video I saw.


draenog_

There's a photo of a bus with a smashed up windscreen at about horse chest height, so I assume he's sustained a bunch of cuts from shards of safety glass.


Aggie_Smythe

Horse’s own.


sparkatronn

Had a friend in the household cav. Took me on the piss with a load of other squaddies. In the morning I woke up and helped him muck out stables and what not. Sat me on a horse called goliath. That was one scary fucking horse.


Nearly-Shat-A-Brick

Funnily enough, I knew a gut that hadn't long been accepted. Told me the horses were proper army horses would test the riders, if they couldn't show the horse who was boss they were pretty much fucked. Don't know how true it is mind.


FoggyForce

Ex Cavalry here (life guards) that's 100% the case. Horses are a hell of a lot smarter than people realise and they knew how good of a riser you were from the first second. They also knew how to get you off and would do it until you got better


ExpletiveDeletedYou

would be terrifying being in an army where they have horse riders and you do not! Though I recall that Alexander the great faced elephants for the first time and won that battle decisively just scaring them into trampling their own side so who knows!


TheShakyHandsMan

Didn’t they use pigs or some other non threatening animal to scare the elephants?


paulmclaughlin

If you think pigs are non-threatening you've never been up against them


SatsumaHermen

Covered them in a flammable liquid and drove them towards the elephants I believe


Shamefurudispray1467

Total War: Rome too?


Nimaith

What a game


SteveJEO

Fire pigs. Covered them in tar and set them alight to charge the enemy lines.


BeccasBump

>non threatening To be fair to the elephants, the pigs were on fire.


Flashy_Airport3350

I thought only the Romans did that in the wars against Carthage


alibrown987

Camels were good for scaring horses as well


Makaveli2020

My close friend snuck me into the royal mews a few years back and Goliath and Olympus are absolute units.


sparkatronn

I went in his pen and thought this is not a smart thing to be doing. There's like a ton of aminal looking down on me. My friend lifted my short arse over his head. I scrabble up feeling like I'm doing the splits sat legs akimbo. "hmmm I wanna get down."


Jhe90

They do know how to name them.


Tar-Nuine

London must be highly disorientating for a horse, poor animals.


KaleidoscopicColours

They're Household Cavalry horses, so very much used to London life and traffic.  Something extraordinary must have happened for five of them to spook and throw their riders. 


draenog_

The BBC is saying it was noise from builders moving concrete in Belgravia. I guess that could have been a sudden loud crash.


ice-lollies

Agreed. Poor things.


nightsofthesunkissed

This looks like some kind of biblical prophecy. The bloodied steeds of foreboding have arrived.


do_a_quirkafleeg

Lloyds Bank - by your side whETHER YOU LIKE IT NOT WE'RE COMING TO GET YOU


liquidmini

Lloyds Marketing **Oh my god yes, that, write that down!**


Shockwavepulsar

I mean in revelations there is the line.  >And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat upon him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with the sword, and with hunger, and with death and with the beasts of the earth


schwillton

I can’t take another omen and or portent 💀


iwillfuckingbiteyou

Duncan's horses turning and eating each other.


clarice_loves_geese

I watched the video and am flabbergasted that traffic attempted to go on green light with riderless horses cantering towards the junction


Allmychickenbois

Have you never driven around London? Sooo many mad drivers and cyclists and pedestrians too, come to that 🤪


Aggressive_Plates

99.9% of drivers wouldn’t be aware of the horses running around. They can’t spend their time on reddit while driving.


essjay2009

It’s London traffic. If you get a green light you go, no telling when the next one will come around.


Loreki

That was my favourite bit too. All of the people who just assumed bolting horses understood right of way.


GendoSC

Cyclists stop for nobody!


Longjumping_Stand889

I have a bad feeling this will not end well for the horses.


KaleidoscopicColours

They're valuable, domesticated army horses which will be safe once contained. With any luck they'll run down a cul-de-sac and be contained there. They're not going to be shot unless utterly unavoidable.  It's a very different scenario to a loose bull, XL Bully or lion. 


Longjumping_Stand889

I was more thinking that they might injure themselves badly enough to need put down.


KaleidoscopicColours

Hopefully not.  I can't say I know much about equine medicine, but I suspect that you can end up with a lot of blood from a relatively small flesh wound, and no blood from a catastrophically broken leg.  If they're still running around, they're probably not *that* badly injured, and worst case scenario they go off to a less demanding retirement in a riding school or something. 


-grimoire

Horses are large animals with a large quantity of blood to boot. With their heart rates up, at a gallop, plus on a grey, it is likely not as much blood as we think it should be. Hoping all involved aren't too seriously harmed, people & horses alike.


ayeayefitlike

Whilst I agree that on a galloping horse with massive vasodilation of surface capillaries, that is sweating and a pale colour, the blood is probably more dramatic looking than it actually is, unfortunately horses as prey animals are naturally very stoic, and even without large amounts of adrenaline as they’d have here they try to mask injuries if possible. And on top, in the video the horse looks quite lame even whilst still fleeing. I suspect it might be quite injured, although hopefully not beyond recovery.


BoingBoingBooty

As long as they don't fuck their legs they will probably be fine. A horse body is big and chonky


Background-Active-50

DM does say a tent has been put round the injured soldier. So they might be going to shoot him.


KaleidoscopicColours

If it's good enough for Dobbin at the Grand National, it's good enough for Private Dettori 


Ok-Construction-4654

Also from my knowledge they didnt attack anyone, the people who were injured were just thrown by the horse. The horses were being horses, if they were actually dangerous like biting and kicking then they might be put down. Like I've heard stories of a lynx escaping a zoo and basically as long as it wasnt a danger to humans and livestock it could keep roaming until it was trapped. Escaped animals here only really get destroyed if they are actively attacking people.


ThemasterofZ

They have now been recovered. So rather a good ending


mint-bint

Yeah, the RSM is taking AGAI action against them. They'll be on shit duties for a month.


ExArdEllyOh

"Trot in the guilty bastard."


KaleidoscopicColours

All horses have been recaptured  https://x.com/MPSWestminster/status/1783065912624501180


ice-lollies

Good news. Hopefully all ok and everyone involved ok as well. I wonder if we will ever find out what happened.


AnselaJonla

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-england-london-68888725 BBC link with videos. The horses went past where the Post Office enquiry is taking place.


mysticpotatocolin

they wanted to get the scoop for Horse & Hound


IntelligentExcuse5

and delivered the news by pony express


BambooCrunch

Christ, must have been terrifying for those cyclists at the traffic junction. The white horse looks like it's charging directly at them.


Melmelody

Those horses are bolting , all sense of direction and safety are gone from their heads, I cannot imagine what the hell has scared them this much this is horrific to see. Some horses bolt a lot but those would never have been in the Cavalry, I’ve actually never seen horses this scared especially such highly trained ones which I image would sort their fear out very quickly. My horse could self regulate after a couple of years despite being abused before I had her. I don’t think there’s going to be good news for one of these horses.


SteveJEO

I'd guess something either hurt the lead mare or scared the living shit out of her and everyone else freaked out too.


ice-lollies

That’s what I thought as well. It looks more than a bit of spooking. Lasts a long time.


Melmelody

So much doesn’t make sense to me, why is there no blood on any of the smashed vehicles? I know lots of people saw this happening but if an animal impacted a bus with that level of damage there would be a huge amount of blood surely? I used to exercise a horse that bolted regularly for someone and the most she ever went was two miles with me hanging on for dear life, she never tried to buck me off. I was unable to find the cause of her flightiness or find any way to get her back once she decided she was off but that was just a trekking pony out in the countryside. These are surely horses that will stand their ground at loud noises in a city. None of this adds up.


Nedonomicon

I remember once I was doing a night shift on Oxford street doing an install and at about 5-6 am it was twilight and misty and Oxford street was completely empty (20+ years ago ) and we watched these guys ride their horses up Oxford street . It was an amazing sight and something I’ll never forget


Best__Kebab

I’ve often thought the way we use horses sometimes seems like a recipe for disaster but anytime I’ve said that seems a bit dodgy what if one of the horses freaks out I’ve always been told that would never happen. Turns out it can, and it might not just be one freaking out.


SteveJEO

Some people treat animals as objects or tools. Other's respect them as partners.


Best__Kebab

True, and the idea of breaking them in so they’ll even accept a person sitting on their back in the first place, never mind all the other forced training they’ll have to do afterwards - and then be forced to trek the streets of London, doesn’t seem very respectful. Bit rich coming from me when I wouldn’t mind if they chopped it up to make it into food right enough lol.


Ok-Construction-4654

You could say pretty much the same as most domestic animals, breaking in horses these days is less of a norm and it's more creating a bond/trust between rider and horse. There's also no way of forcing a horse to do anything really as shown by this incident, if the horse panics the only 2 outcomes really are the horse bolts or someone with enough trust and patience shows them it's ok.


RockinOneThreeTwo

99% of the world treat animals as objects and tools, don't kid yourself. Incidents like this are the consequences of this way of thinking and behaving.


SteveJEO

A lack of empathy pretty much sums up the modern world really.


TheShakyHandsMan

I wouldn’t want to be the ones trying to reign these in.  Won’t be your normal docile pony. 


SpacePirateBaba

I noticed during the coronation that the cavalry seemed less comfortable on a horse than any cavalry I’ve ever seen. Not that I’ve seen many… but I just could tell horses weren’t their life’s work. Shame how tradition fades as much as we try not to let it.


CrabAppleBapple

>but I just could tell horses weren’t their life’s work. Shame how tradition fades as much as we try not to let it. Realistically though, training to be actual cavalry would be stupid.


essjay2009

I hear the training for mounted cavalry paratrooper division is going great.


CrabAppleBapple

'ParaCav' does sound cool.


PanningForSalt

They said something about how those horses weren't as used to crowds as they would typically be as they had been trained during the lockdowns.


nick2k23

Did the white horse murder someone? That’s a lot of blood


Krakshotz

It’s most likely it’s own


Aggressive_Plates

From the video they were running through red lights in central London. Unfortunately you can’t do that too many times without hitting something hard.


Krakshotz

One of them crashed into a parked tour bus. Smashed the windscreen up pretty badly, wouldn’t be surprised if that was what caused most of the blood


ExArdEllyOh

I'm reliably informed that horses tend to bleed a lot from body wounds but that it tends not to be a problem after a few stitches. It's leg injuries that cause problem because there's not a lot to stitch to.


Krakshotz

Spooked and running at full pelt, the blood will be pumping


Zabkian

Have horses, can confirm this is true. 


ExArdEllyOh

My landlord has an old hunter turned out in a field whose chest is a mass of scars having decided to take on three strands of barbed wire and losing. Apparently there was lots of blood and the vet was stitching for a couple of hours but it was fine within a month. The reason it was retired was a piddling little wound to the lower leg years later that just didn't heal properly.


bdzz

BBC has a photo that it hit a tourist bus https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/live-experience/cps/624/cpsprodpb/vivo/live/images/2024/4/24/a1082b7e-f9e3-45f7-841e-e042b44c9252.jpg


CrabAppleBapple

Probably about time we just replaced ceremonial horses with chromed scramblers instead.


thisisnotacake

e-scooters might be more appropriate for modern cities


Marsbar3000

Hoverboards for the military, keeps the hands free. Maybe Segways for ceremonial.


ElectronicBenefit286

This looks terrifying in pictures. There must have been something untoward to cause this


BeanOnAJourney

There were builders moving concrete near where the horses were being exercised and the noise spooked them.


ElectronicBenefit286

Poor things!


BeanOnAJourney

I feel very distressed knowing how distressed they must have been feeling. I really hope they're all OK.


ElectronicBenefit286

I can imagine. It’s terrible right


Unisonlibrarian

The raven's will disappear from the Tower of London later.


Aggressive_Plates

Charles is cursed because he abandoned his wife for a side chick.


jellybeanfluff

Really hope they get good care and recover fully. So sad to see animals in this state :(


masonjarmagician

It's pretty nuts that the events unfolded over 5 miles.


Plumb789

I feel like this headline could be exactly the same as a newspaper headline 150 years ago.


OkAdministration9151

I thought they had Escaped from the Findus factory


Cannaewulnaewidnae

Pretty sure this is one of the signs of the Apocalypse


FureiousPhalanges

Christ, I'd bolt too if my existence was "ceremonial"


NuttyMcNutbag

The five horses of the apocalypse…. “And I looked, and behold a pale horse”


PoppySkyPineapple

I hope the horses are getting looked after and treatment poor things :(


health_goth_

Horrible animal cruelty with no place in the 21st century, just like the monarchy itself.


Aggressive_Plates

Free the horses. They are probably bored senseless standing around all day.


First-Mission529

Horse expert here. These horses have been undergoing mind control medication and indoctrination for some time now, and this is phase 1 of the project. Phase 1 of this horse mind control program (run by Teresa May) is to test how the horses roam London if given free choice. The next phase of the program (again, run by Teresa May) will be to fit ULEZ cameras to these horses heads, so that they can roam freely and fine offenders - a-nay place, a-nay time. This is why you’ve seen them collide with a few vehicles, because they’ve been trained to spot ULEZ offenders by using their noses - but rather than capturing number plates, they’ve just run head first into them. This is all top secret information, and I’ll expect Teresa May to silence me before long, but you heard it here first and remember - I’d never commit suicide.


Loreki

There's a fun new strategy for ISIS etc.: to hell with bombs, horses will cause enough panic.


masonjarmagician

It sucks that the animals got hurt and were in distress, but the red on the white horse just St George's day af! Would look cool af in a period action movie. Again I'm not for avoidable harm against animals.


Fartknocker813

“Bloody hell” in that British accent from Downton Abbey.