A Household Cavalry horse which was injured when it broke loose and bolted through central London has returned to service.
Three soldiers were rushed to hospital and a fourth person was injured after Household Cavalry horses became spooked and rampaged through central London smashing into cars, a taxi and a bus.
Striking images of Vida, an injured grey horse covered in blood, made front pages across the UK in April, after the animal was spooked by the sudden sound of construction work.
The Horse’s Trust has confirmed after five months that the animal has made “remarkable progress” and has returned to his regiment.
Vida was first treated by Household Cavalry vets before being transferred to The Horse Trust in Buckinghamshire, where he quietly recuperated in the countryside.
Nicola Housby Skeggs, Veterinary Director at The Horse Trust, said: “Seeing Vida go home is bittersweet: 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.”
Staff at The Horse Trust described how Vida “absolutely loves attention, maybe even more than he likes rolling in the muddiest part of the field.”
Vida, alongside a black horse named Quaker, was pictured storming through London covered in blood after being spooked by builders moving rubble while they were on an extended exercise with five other horses and six soldiers from the Household Cavalry in Belgravia.
Ambulance crews treated four people in three separate incidents in Buckingham Palace Road, Belgrave Square and at the junction of Chancery Lane and Fleet Street, in the space of 10 minutes.
The drama began near Buckingham Palace Road where witnesses saw a serviceman thrown from his horse and one of the loose animals crashed into a taxi waiting outside the Clermont Hotel, shattering windows.
Two horses were then seen running in the road near Aldwych, one of which appeared to be covered in blood, which the Army said was “consistent with lacerations”.
The animals were later seen near the Limehouse Tunnel, around six miles from where they first bolted, before they were recaptured by the City of London Police and taken away to be assessed by Army vets.
