Horses “running amok” in London

Four terrified cavalry horses run through the streets on April 24th and two are badly injured, apparently spooked by builders dropping rubble from some height.  The reporting is oddly coy as to what exactly happened and there is typical rabble-rousing use of words like “rampage”, which imply aggressive and deliberately destructive behaviour.  There is a very simple solution to this.  Horses should not be in cities at all, it is a horrible life for them, and they should certainly not be used for military or policing purposes.  This is not the nineteenth century.  Black Beauty was published in 1877.

The horse pictured is the late William, a former gentle giant resident of the wonderful Hillside animal sanctuary in Norfolk, in a field, in the countryside, where he belonged, not ridden, not forced to perform, not exploited in any way.