Will runaway Household Cavalry horse ever return to active duty? Equine experts ... trends now
Equine experts have cast doubt on whether the Household Cavalry horse that bolted and went on a six-mile rampage through London yesterday will ever return to active duty.
Household Cavalry horses Vida and Quaker were two of five that were spooked as they passed through Wilton Crescent in Belgravia at 8.40am yesterday and heard a loud noise from concrete dropping on the floor from a builder's travelator.
Five people, including three soldiers riding the horses, were injured in three separate incidents during the six-mile rampage on Wednesday that lasted two hours. The soldiers are all set to make a full recovery.
It emerged that Vida, the blood-soaked white horse, reportedly has a history of being spooked and even allegedly kicked a soldier in the head during the King's Coronation.
Although one of the five that tried to bolt was caught in time, horses Trojan, Quaker and Tennyson all joined Vida in running loose.
Dr Claire Corridan is a veterinary surgeon with a doctorate in animal behaviour and welfare.
She told MailOnline that Vida may have been suffering from PTSD-like behaviour because of a past trauma and tragically those symptoms would likely now worsen.
Other experts said horses were 'prey' animals that had a natural instinct to escape threats and that 'herd' mentality meant the other horses had followed in panic.
Two horses that ran rampage through London after being 'spooked by builders moving rubble' are in a 'serious condition'
This blood-soaked Household Cavalry horse was one of five that bolted during a morning exercise on Wednesday (pictured between Tower Bridge and the Limehouse tunnel after a six-mile rampage)
The horse was seen galloping through the streets of London in terrifying scenes on Wednesday morning
The last two horses were finally caught near a patch of grass outside the Glamis Estate in Limehouse
Dr Claire Corridan (pictured) is a veterinary surgeon with a doctorate in animal behaviour and welfare. She told MailOnline that Vida may have been suffering from PTSD-like behaviour because of a past trauma and tragically those symptoms would likely now worsen
The horses bolted and went on a six-mile rampage through central London on Wednesday
Dr Corridan told MailOnline: 'That particular horse may have been injured previously.
'Then anything that triggers that memory would override [their training].
'[It's] PTSD-like behaviour. If that horse has been in an incident, that sound triggered a memory in its head.
'All that horse was thinking was about finding somewhere safe to be.
'All they are thinking about is getting away. They will injure themselves in a blind panic - they are frantic.
'When there is a history, I would think that animal wouldn't be suitable for working.
'There's a million things that could cause a loud bang. Once they have reacted once, they are more likely to do that again.
'With a period of time with a trainer they might be able to be desensitized but it depends what the incident was in terms of the emotional damage in the horse's head.
'There's training programs and in extreme cases, if there's ongoing anxiety there's medical management.
'Everything is a potential trigger - smells, sounds, sights, people. That horse needs to be taken out of that scenario. They can be rehabilitated.
'The scenario will have done its own damage. They need to be treated with kindness and empathy and be given time to recover.
'It may be that that particular role in that built-up area - they may not be suitable for that.'
Is is believed that the five horses were spooked when some cement was dropped by the travelator onto the ground
Rubble being moved from a building on Wilton Crescent Wilton Crescent, a street in the Belgravia area, where builders using a travelator with concrete are believed to have spooked the horses
It is understood that three soldiers were injured after the horses spooked and smashed into cars and a bus
Members of the Household Cavalry prior to parading at the Major General's annual inspection of the Mounted Regiment today
The regiment will be hoping there is no repeat of the shocking scenes yesterday. Members of the regiment were in Hyde Park this morning (pictured) ahead of the inspection
Major General James Bowder during his annual inspection of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, in Hyde Park, London, today
Concrete rubble allegedly fell from the conveyor belt onto the floor
It is believed this is what spooked the five horses and sparked their six-mile rampage through London
Vida, a grey that was seen bleeding heavily after clattering into a parked minivan outside The Clermont Hotel near Victoria station, underwent surgery last night and is new recovering under observation at the Hyde Park barracks.
Quaker, meanwhile, is the more seriously injured of the two and was transferred to an undisclosed equine hospital this morning after also undergoing surgery last night.
It is not yet known for sure if Quaker was the black horse captured on mobile phone footage moments after colliding into a parked tourist bus near Buckingham Palace.
Neither horse is understood to have suffered any broken bones and have been treated for serious cuts and blood loss.
Yesterday morning, six soldiers and seven horses from the Life Guards were on an extended Watering Order, an exercise to keep up the fitness of animals not involved in the public-facing King's Life Guard duties.
They are thought to have been spooked by
