The sight of runaway military horses – one covered in blood – wasn’t what any Londoner expected to encounter on their commute this morning. Five horses from the Household Cavalry bolted during a rehearsal, having been frightened by noisy builders near Buckingham Palace. At least four people were hurt and several vehicles smashed. Two of the animals travelled five miles to Limehouse, in east London, before they were rounded up.
It’s no wonder people were surprised. If you live in London, you’re unlikely to see horses regularly – and, if you do see them, they’d usually be behaving themselves and on duty, not galloping blind and riderless through the roads.
At least four people were hurt and several vehicles smashed
While the horses that the army and police use for their respective duties are subject to thorough training and exposed to all kinds of sights and sounds before they’re allowed out on public duty, we need to remember that horses will always be horses. They are flight animals, whose instincts will tell them to run away from any dangerous situation. They’re also herd animals; if one animals gets scared and runs, the others are naturally inclined to follow.
Although the vehicle-packed London of today is not naturally suited to horses, it hasn’t always been this way. Only 150 years ago, the streets of the capital would have been equally packed with horses: some pulling private carriages; others harnessed to forms of public transport such as horse-drawn omnibuses or wagonettes pulled by two or three horses, and other horses carrying riders. Many houses in the suburbs had their own stable, as did most pubs – particularly coaching inns. The mews houses of central London which today sell for several million pounds a pop were built as stabling and grooms’ accommodation. And London’s street names still pay homage to equines: Dray Walk, Stable Way, Cheval Place, and so on.
People may well complain about air pollution caused by vehicle emissions today, but while there was no Ulez (Ultra-low emission zone) charge in the 1800s, there were plenty of equine emissions. In London alone, an army of around 8,000 road sweepers worked through the night to clear up horse manure, toiling in the darkness to tidy the streets in time for the morning rush. Wagons which had brought food and produce from the countryside to London returned home carrying horse manure back to the fields where it could be put to use.
The London of then was a very different place from today. After this morning’s furore, many people have been asking why there are still horses in London today, and questioning whether they ought to be there.
It’s true that, if given a choice, a horse would probably prefer to be in a green pasture somewhere far from the hustle and bustle of the capital than treading over tarmac every day. But the few horses that are still here in London do play an important role.
The horses of the Met’s Mounted Branch are housed at one of eight stables across the capital. The City of London Police also maintain a mounted branch. Just yesterday, as the police clashed with protestors at a St George’s Day rally on Downing Street, mounted police were on crowd-patrol duty. While being on a horse provides a better vantage point at events like this or at football matches, a policeman on horseback can also act as more of a physical deterrent to any would-be troublemakers.
The Army horses on the other hand – mainly those of the Household Cavalry – are mainly used for ceremonial purposes. There will almost always be two horses from the King’s Life Guard division on guard duty at Horse Guards: the official entrance to Buckingham Palace and St James’s Palace. At events like Trooping the Colour, State Visits and the State Opening of Parliament, as well as at other ceremonial occasions, Household Cavalry horses will take pride of place at the centre of proceedings. The Army argue that the use of horses in their ceremonial duties sends a message to the rest of the world about their operational capabilities: ‘For a country with global interests these roles offer a powerful symbol of our operational military heritage, whilst enhancing the standing of the Sovereign and the Nation before both national and international audiences.’
London’s street names still pay homage to equines: Dray Walk, Stable Way, Cheval Place, and so on
Perhaps the London of 2024 isn’t the ideal home for a horse; but it’s both important to remember and a huge tribute to these animals that, 99 per cent of the time, these horses and the daily cacophony of London life go hand in hand with little or no disturbance to the daily grind.
The horses are wonderfully treated, and all those involved in today’s incident have already been seen by the vets and are being treated accordingly. During the summer, the Army horses travel to Norfolk for an annual training camp and enjoy a beach ride at Holkham Bay. Similarly, the horses of the mounted police regiments don’t live in London permanently, and regularly enjoy ‘time out’ in the countryside for a change of scenery.
It’s also important for some of the specific breeds of horse who suit police or army service that they continue to have a role. There are fewer than 3,000 Shire horses in Britain today, and the breed is classed as being officially ‘At Risk’, as many of the jobs that they were bred to do are now carried out by machines or tractors. Most people who want a horse these days don’t need anything of that size or strength. But the Household Cavalry’s drum horses are typically Shires, meaning that, as long as horses continue to carry out ceremonial duties, Shires will still have this role. Similarly the Irish Draft horses and crosses used by the Police and Army are less in demand as riding horses, but can continue their lines as long as the Mounted Regiments exist.
The sight of horses running amok in London was shocking, and we should hope that those injured are recovering well. But while there will be questions about how this incident was allowed to happen – and about why it took so long to bring the horses under control – the truth is that we’d miss these animals if they vanished for good from the streets of London.
Was the London horse rampage avoidable?
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24.04.2024
The sight of runaway military horses – one covered in blood – wasn’t what any Londoner expected to encounter on their commute this morning. Five horses from the Household Cavalry bolted during a rehearsal, having been frightened by noisy builders near Buckingham Palace. At least four people were hurt and several vehicles smashed. Two of the animals travelled five miles to Limehouse, in east London, before they were rounded up.
It’s no wonder people were surprised. If you live in London, you’re unlikely to see horses regularly – and, if you do see them, they’d usually be behaving themselves and on duty, not galloping blind and riderless through the roads.
At least four people were hurt and several vehicles smashed
While the horses that the army and police use for their respective duties are subject to thorough training and exposed to all kinds of sights and sounds before they’re allowed out on public duty, we need to remember that horses will always be horses. They are flight animals, whose instincts will tell them to run away from any dangerous situation. They’re also herd animals; if one animals gets scared and runs, the others are naturally inclined to follow.
Although the vehicle-packed London of today is not naturally suited to horses, it hasn’t always been this way. Only 150 years ago, the streets of the capital would have been equally packed with horses: some pulling private carriages; others harnessed to forms of public transport such as horse-drawn omnibuses or wagonettes pulled by two or three horses, and other........
© The Spectator
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