It was shaping up to be a perfectly normal day in London. Commuters were filing their way through the tangled streets to their offices, the weather was cool yet bright, and yet something was amiss. Where was the familiar bong of Big Ben? Then came the faint sound of clopping hooves.
Clip clop. Clip clop.
Faster they came, and louder! As jaws dropped two furious horses charged through the streets of London, their mouths frothing, their flanks wet with sweat, and one dripping with blood. People dove out of their way, cars screeched to a halt, and they’d be forgiven for having Revelations 6:8 run through their panicked heads:
“And I looked, and beheld a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.”
There’s no way this is a good omen, but what the heck is going on?!
Horses!
The AP confirms that the first horse-related incident of the day took place at 8.25 am on Buckingham Palace Road. The King’s Household Cavalry was undergoing training when something spooked their mounts. The horses promptly bucked their riders and escaped into central London, beating a nightmarish clattering rhythm through the busy streets.
An eyewitness said:
“I saw a white horse running, he was bleeding all over his chest. A few moments later I saw another horse—a black one—running after him. And then a police car went down the road after them.”
At some point on their mad dash one collided with a double-decker “Big Bus Tours” bus, leaving its windshield shattered. Another seems to have collided with a pedestrian and then a car. Bashir Aden, 48, told the Telegraph newspaper:
“I saw a soldier falling down into the street after the horse ran into a car. One of my colleagues called the police. The man hit the floor hard, he was screaming in pain. You could see blood all over the parked car. … People were screaming and running all over.”
The chaos ended far to the east in Limehouse, where the horses were recaptured and are receiving emergency veterinary care. Five people have been left with horse-related injuries but, miraculously, it seems none of the escaped horses will need to be put down as a result of this incident as there don’t appear to be any broken limbs. Here’s hoping the blood was from superficial wounds.
Either way, Londoners will be praying their commute home this afternoon is less eventful.