Military horses run loose through London

Five British military horses — one of them apparently covered in blood — escaped Wednesday and ran loose and riderless through central London.

LONDON — There was mayhem at rush hour in the British capital Wednesday after five elite military horses — one of them apparently covered in blood — broke loose and galloped riderless through miles of downtown London.

First responders raced to incidents across the capital after the steeds from the Household Cavalry, the top regiment of the British Army, became spooked by construction work, the army said.

Four military riders were thrown from their mounts, which then charged past iconic landmarks and collided with vehicles including a black London taxi and a double-decker tour bus, damaging its windscreen.

“A number of personnel and horses have been injured and are receiving the appropriate medical attention,” the army said in a statement after the horses were finally contained.

The surreal image of saddled horses bolting through one of the largest cities in the world prompted Brits on social media to joke — perhaps nervously — that this may be a portent for some terrible looming event. The hashtag #Apocalypse briefly trended on X in the famously sardonic United Kingdom.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/runaway-horses-london-blood-household-cavalry-army-rcna149113

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