If you pass by Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey in central London during the morning rush hour on the 24th, you will have a good chance of seeing such a "Crazy Horse Show":
Two horses galloped through the middle of the avenue, and the white one was dripping with blood, and the piercing red stained from its chest all the way to its hind hooves, as if it had just fled from the battlefield:
(Scene photographed by citizens)
The GIF can slightly feel their speed:
(Scene photographed by citizens)
It's not like some deep-pocketed crew has chartered an entire road in central London for filming.
On the contrary, the two horses belonged to the British Household Cavalry, and their loss of control was completely unexpected.
昨天上午8点过，骑兵队的6名士兵，带着7匹马去做“Watering Order”。 啥叫“Watering Order”呢？
Before industrialization, when cavalry was still in its prime, soldiers would patrol London along their own routes, marked by stone troughs along the roadside, where horses could stop to rest and drink.
久而久之，这事就简化叫“Watering Order”了，“喝水的顺序”。
Of course, after industrialization and constitutional monarchy, cavalry was known to be a mascot, so today's "Watering Order" actually refers to a kind of "desensitization training" of horses, so that they can come into contact with and adapt to the urban environment without being frightened outside.
Yesterday's "Crazy Horse Show" was actually an accident at the "Watering Order".
(If nothing else, it's actually so.)
At about 8:25 a.m., the cavalry passed by a large truck, which was pouring concrete onto the pavement.
Probably the sudden noise startled the horses, 5 of the 7 horses tried to break free, and 4 of them did run away, but most of the horses quickly got under control, and only 2 of them ran too fast, which is the first two......
However, four horsemen on horseback were thrown off the spot, three of them were injured and have now been hospitalized, but they are all in good condition and no one is in danger of life.
(Note: The tone of this part of the media is inconsistent, some of the above statements, and some say that five horses were taken, three of which were quickly controlled, using the statement of an army spokesman quoted by the BBC.) ）
(working truck)
Anyway, two horses escaped and went on a rampage in central London during the morning rush hour......
One of them hit a bus, shattering nearly half of the front glass, though it's not certain if the white horse hit it.
(Hit bus)
There was also a hapless taxi driver, Farez, who was waiting in the car to pick up passengers.
Unexpectedly, another horse crashed directly into the side of his body, almost overturning the roof of the car, but fortunately, the taxi was heavier and finally fell back......
(Owner Fareez)
(Rental in Farez)
Others are in danger, but the car is definitely going to be overhauled...
Maybe my livelihood will be delayed, I hope the cavalry will give compensation....
(Rental in Farez)
The first view of the citizens is also terrifying,
I was walking on the road, and suddenly two horses collided with each other...
(Video taken by a citizen)
Or riding a scooter, two horses suddenly burst out of the intersection and narrowly grazed by...
(Footage captured by dashcam)
Or sitting in the car, a bloody figure suddenly passed by the window...
(Video taken by a citizen)
In short, the two horses ran all the way, and the police car chased after them, and chased them for six miles, from Buckingham Palace all the way to Limehouse.
The riot lasted nearly two hours, and it was not until 10:30 a.m. that they were finally pacified.
(Horse's escape route)
The road was a real mess, with all kinds of broken glass, bloodstains, and kicked electrical boxes......
The Daily Mail reporter even picked up a horseshoe on the side of the road......
(The ground is still red after washing)
(An electrical box in Belgrave Square was kicked and smashed)
(The horseshoe picked up by the reporter)
In terms of casualties, according to current reports, the horses have caused a total of three incidents, resulting in five injuries and four hospitalizations.
Then throw away the three cavalrymen who were thrown off their horses, and one more citizen should be injured and one hospitalized, but their identities are not clear for the time being.
However, the situation of the two horses was not optimistic, and they both hung up.
The dark horse just couldn't see it, but in fact, the nose and the base of the front leg were injured.
(Dark Horse Injury)
Not to mention the White Horse......
Judging from the footage taken by the citizens, the officers bandaged it,
(Police bandage horses)
Later, someone also dealt with its left hind leg ...
(Army dealing with the left hind leg of a white horse)
According to the Daily Mail, Hakuba appears reluctant to let this leg land and may have broken it.
("Looks like the white horse has broken bones")
As we all know, once a racehorse breaks a bone, no matter how noble, it will be euthanized, because a broken leg of a horse is almost incurable, and dragging it down is also torture.
I wonder if the cavalry has similar rules and what they will do with their comrades......
"Last night, both injured horses underwent surgery, one of which has been transferred to the equine hospital," an army spokesman said today. The rest of the horses are under close observation. ”
However, he did not say in detail which horse entered the hospital, so the fate of the white horse is still very .....
What is certain is that after this incident, there will certainly be animal protection groups that criticize the British cavalry tradition.
After all, there was one time when Charles was crowned before, because the coronation used a carriage, and Camilla was also holding an ivory scepter, which unsurprisingly caused a round of heated discussions.
(Footage of GBN TV discussing the matter at the time)
If this accident results in the white horse being euthanized, it can be expected that the tradition of the London cavalry will almost certainly be questioned in a new round......
In fact, there are already some such voices on the push, such as:
"What age is it, why is the army still raising horses? Besides, how much do these ceremonial things cost?"
"Is there any discussion about how much these horses cost us? It's unnecessary, the cost of the monarchy, we can do without it. ”
(From Twitter netizens)
In the aftermath of this incident, the Secretary of State for Defence Procurement, James Cartlidge, said that it was a rare surprise that an average of 150 horses were trained in the "Watering Order" in London every day, but then again -
If a risky "tradition" is kept in place long enough, isn't it only a matter of time before something unexpected happens?
In any case, let's hope that both horses and humans will recover soon......