Are the cavalry horses that charged through London's streets, okay?

The story about seven cavalry horses escaping and charging through central London is reported across all the news media today. There are some unpleasant photographs of blood pouring down a gray horse. It looks quite shocking. The horses ran into traffic injuring themselves and damaging vehicles. It is fortunate that nobody was killed and the horses have survived.

Update 30th May 2024: "Two military horses seen galloping through the streets of London last month remain under full-time professional vet care and observation, the PA news agency understands." - PA.

This short report is about the health and welfare of the horses. An army spokesman said:

"The horses have been recovered and returned to camp. A number of personnel and horses have been injured and are receiving medical attention."

The MoD said that one soldier had been responsible for two of the horses.

Update:

All I can say is that five horses have been recovered to the army - three of those are fine, but unfortunately two of those are in quite a serious condition and we'll be continuing to monitor them," James Cartlidge, the defence procurement minister, told LBC.

Further update:

The Times reports that 2 horses have undergone operations. A horse named Quaker has been transferred to an equine hospital. The army assured the public that their horse receive the highest standard of care. Note: I have just heard that they are kept in stables 24/7 except for one hour a day. If that is true it is not the highest standards of care.

The report is that the injury to the horses were caused by glass that had been broken from vehicles which the horses had run into. If that's the case then the injuries will not be severe it would seem to me.

One witness said: "One of the horses hit the Mercedes van and the rider was on, fell back on this little middle of the road, and the other woman lost control of her horse and she managed to grab the railings. The injured soldier was lying there on the ground. He looked like he hurt himself pretty bad. It was terrible."

The horses had been spooked "as they passed some building work and concrete fell from the roof". They were being ridden at the time by the soldiers. Four of the soldiers fell and three were injured. They were taken to hospital along with an injured civilian. It is believed that the injuries are not serious.

As I said, the horses are being assessed by a veterinarian and the indications are from the story although this needs to be confirmed that they have not been seriously harmed and will recover. I will try and update this page if and when it is possible.

P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.