Military horse injured after bolting through London returns to service

A military horse that was injured after getting loose in central London earlier this year has returned to service.

Vida was one of five horses spooked by rubble being dropped through a plastic tunnel while on an exercise in Belgravia on April 24.

Pictures taken of the incident showed the grey horse covered in blood as it bolted for several miles along city streets.

Equine charity The Horse Trust, which subsequently cared for the animal in Buckinghamshire, announced on Friday that Vida had returned to the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment (HCMR) “after five months of respite”.

The horse was “given the time and space to recover both physically and emotionally” and was often seen “rolling happily in the mud”, the charity said.

Three of the four other HCMR horses involved – Tennyson, Trojan and Vanquish – took part in Trooping the Colour in June after making “swift and successful” recoveries.

Jeanette Allen, chief executive of The Horse Trust, said: “It’s been our honour to give Vida a place of respite and recovery.

“Vida has come to hold a particular place in our hearts, he’s been a joy to care for, partly as we don’t have to groom that muddy monster for parade!

“He’s had a lovely time, and we are extremely proud of him as he sets off back to his role in the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment.”

Nicola Housby Skeggs, veterinary director at the charity, said Vida’s return to service was “bittersweet”.

She said: “He has been an absolute superstar, winning the groom’s hearts (and treats). We are so pleased to see him make such a fantastic recovery.

“While he will be missed here, as a relative youngster, he is certainly now ready for some exercise.”

Animal rights group Peta wrote to the HMCR’s commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Mathew Woodward, in June, calling for all five horses involved in the incident to be retired permanently.

Kate Werner, Peta’s senior campaigns manager, wrote: “Tradition is never an excuse for animal suffering, and each horse deserves to live free from the stress they endure when paraded through a busy, loud capital city with a human on their back, all for the amusement of noisy, unpredictable crowds.”