horse london blood
© Jordan Pettitt/PA via APA white horse on the loose bolt through the streets of London near Aldwych, on Wednesday Apr 24, 2024.
Something weird - and perhaps symbolic, though of what we're unsure - happened in London, UK, this morning. Media reports that two riderless military horses were seen galloping through central London at rush hour on Wednesday morning. They were caught after about two hours, local police said.

Photos and video posted on social media and by British news outlets showed the horses running along busy roads, dodging buses, taxis and other traffic.

Both were wearing saddles and bridles, with one - a white one - apparently covered in blood on its chest and forelegs.





London's Metropolitan Police said it was "working with colleagues in the army to locate them".

A number of prestigious army regiments have stables in the British capital and horses are a regular sight around government buildings on Whitehall, Buckingham Palace, The Mall and in nearby Hyde Park.

The City of London Police, which polices the Square Mile financial district, said they were called at about 8.40am local time about the loose horses.
calvary bus
"Our officers have contained two horses on the Highway near Limehouse," a statement read.

"We're waiting for an Army horse box to collect the horses and transport them to veterinary care."

The Daily Telegraph said up to five army horses had thrown their riders while they were being exercised and at least one soldier was injured.

Incidentally, yesterday, April 23rd, was Saint George's Day in England, the nation's patron saint, and who rode a white horse.

More details from South China Morning Post:
"A number of military working horses became loose during a routine exercise this morning. All of the horses have now been recovered and returned to camp," a British army spokesperson said in a statement.
[...]

The horses belong to the Household Cavalry, which acts as the British monarch's official bodyguard and takes part in ceremonial duties. They are garrisoned at Hyde Park barracks, less than a mile away from Buckingham Palace.

A number of prestigious army regiments have stables in the British capital and horses are a regular sight around government buildings on Whitehall, Buckingham Palace, The Mall and in nearby Hyde Park.
The Daily Mail further reports:
Five people, including a soldier who was riding on of the horses, were injured in three separate incidents during the six-mile rampage on Wednesday that lasted two hours.

Four people were hospitalised. It is understood that three of them are soldiers who have not sustained life-threatening injuries.

The Household Cavalry soldier was left 'screaming in pain' after he was thrown from his horse when it struck a car by the Clermont Hotel on Buckingham Palace Road, Victoria.

horse calvary
Commuters said they heard the soldier screaming in pain after they saw him fall from his horse when the animal ran into a car.

The horses were spooked during their daily morning exercise on Horse Guards Parade, in Whitehall, at around 8.40am.

One of the horses has also seemingly ran into a double-decker bus, smashing its windscreen, while another reportedly crashed into a black cab.

Emergency services rushed to the help the injured soldier, who was seen being treated on the road.

Bashir Aden, 48, a construction worker, told The Telegraph: '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.'

A silver Mercedes-Benz people carrier was also hit by another horse, with damage to its side and two rear windows broken.
london calvary
Buckingham Palace Road was closed after the shocking incident and a cordon was put in place.

A blue tarpaulin tent has been put up around the injured soldier.

The horses ran through the streets of Victoria and got as far east as Aldwych before they were calmed and contained by police on the Highway near Limehouse.

Officers are now waiting for Army horseboxes to take the animals away.

A woman who saw the horse crash into the Mercedes told LBC: 'One of the horses hit the Mercedes van and the rider was on it, fell back on this little middle bit of the road and the other woman lost control of her horse and she managed to grab the railings.

'The horses were injured obviously from the glasses that they had broken. [The injured soldier] was laying there on the ground. He looked like he hurt himself pretty bad. It was terrible.'

The horses were all caught and accounted for by 10.30am, the Met Police said.


The Met Police said: 'We are aware of a number of horses that are currently loose in central London and are working with colleagues, including the Army, to locate them.'

The City of London Police said: 'At around 8.40am, we were called about horses that had became loose and were travelling through the City.

'Our officers have contained two horses on the Highway near Limehouse. We're waiting for an Army horse box to collect the horses and transport them to veterinary care.'

London Ambulance Service said: 'We were called at 8.25am today to reports of a person being thrown from a horse on Buckingham Palace Road, SW1W.
Oddly, the horse incident occurred today at 8:25am, and 35 minutes later, this happened:
Teams drafted in to fix Big Ben clock after it stops working - The Standard, 24 April 2024
Engineers were drafted in to fix Westminster's famous Big Ben clock after it stopped on Wednesday morning.

An incorrect number of bongs also sounded at the wrong time when the Elizabeth Tower clock appeared to stop for about an hour at 9am.

Big Ben's iconic bongs rang out at 10:06am instead of on the hour.
One interesting detail reported by The Telegraph is that at 10:06am the clock showed 9am, and rang 11 times:
'The Big Ben clock stopped on Wednesday morning with the hands stuck at 9am and the wrong number of bongs sounded.

The Elizabeth Tower clock appeared to stop for about an hour, before showing the correct time again at 10:15am. Big Ben's bongs also sounded 11am at 10:06am despite the hands of at least two of the clock faces showing 9am.'
Here's footage of Big Ben malfunctioning:




A House of Commons spokesman said:
"We are aware that the clock dials on the Elizabeth Tower were temporarily displaying the incorrect time this morning [Wednesday April 24].

"Teams worked quickly to rectify the issue and carried out servicing to the mechanism, which has now completed.

"The clock dials of the Elizabeth Tower are currently functioning as normal and no risks to the integrity of the mechanism have been identified."

Following the historic refurbishment of the Great Clock, rigorous and regular servicing takes place in line with horological industry standards, to ensure the clock can continue to function correctly."
The Standard report again:
The clock was showing the correct time again at 10:15am.

Occasional stoppages are part of the "bedding in" process for the clock, as the mechanism wears in.

The hourly strikes of the bells are expected to resume at midday on Wednesday after the system is reset.

Big Ben was silenced between August 2017 and November 2022 during restoration work to the Elizabeth Tower, estimated to have cost around £80million.

The clock stopped working twice in one week last July, a year after the completion.
The Daily Mail adds:
'Big Ben's timekeeping is strictly regulated by a stack of coins placed on the huge pendulum.

Before 2009, timekeepers kept 10 old pennies beside the mechanism, using the coins to keep the clock accurate. It now also uses special £5 coins created especially for the 2012 Olympics.

Adding or taking away coins affects the pendulum's centre of mass and the rate at which it swings, Mike McCann, the clock's keeper told Reuters news service at the time.

The clock has rarely stopped - even after a bomb destroyed the Commons chamber during the Second World War, the clock tower survived and Big Ben continued to strike the hours.'

The Great Bell, commonly called Big Ben, weighs 13.7 tonnes and strikes every hour, to the note of E natural.

It is accompanied by four quarter bells that chime every 15 minutes.
Notably, back in February this year, amidst a number of royal health scares, footage of one of the royal white horses caught people's attention for its nervous behaviour during a transfer of the guards: