Household Cavalry horses 'ready to explode as they get just one hour of exercise a day'

Two of the horses are still being treated after being injured while running through London (Image: PA)

A whistleblower has claimed horses are mistreated in the Household Cavalry after five bolted in central London during an exercise.

Two horses remain injured on Wednesday's six mile stint that left several people injured. Practising for a Major General’s inspection in Hyde Park, the horses eventually threw four soldiers onto the ground - injuring three, along with a member of the public.

And now an ex-employee has claimed the horses were "ready to explode" after being kept in "horrible conditions".

Speaking to LBC, Kate - who worked with the same horses in the barracks before quitting two months ago - said she raised concerns over their welfare.

"Those horses are so nervous. They are ready to explode. I don’t think it’s a healthy environment. It doesn’t provide what a horse needs, and space," she said.

A whistleblower claims the horses are kept in 'horrible conditions' (Image: PA)

Kate also claimed she saw rats roaming in their barracks, along with loose wires and "dirty water" that was allegedly given to the horses.

Concern was also raised that the horses were "kept in stalls, and not always loose boxes", which Kate says gave them "very little possibility to move during the day".

She added that it meant the horses would "only have exercise for an hour a day, and very little sunlight, often stuck inside".

Kate also claims soldiers would shout at the animals, recalling one calling them "stupid animals" while she was grooming them.

Concerns have also been raised by Victoria Smith, a horse behavioural expert from Somerset. She said: "I really do not agree with the way they are kept. We’ve always know they are kept in stalls, not stables. They can’t have any grazing, they can’t stretch, they can’t run, they can’t roll. When I see them, they’re clearly very stiff -their heads are shaking and they don’t want to stand still.

"They are beautiful, majestic animals. It needs to change, it’s old fashioned and it doesn’t work."

Jennifer White, from the animal rights organisation PETA, said there should be an "investigation" into how horses are kept, and called for the government to reconsider how cavalry horses are homed.

An Army Spokesperson told Express.co.uk: "We take the health and wellbeing of our military working horses extremely seriously. They are well looked after, exercised daily and have 24/7 direct access to world-class veterinary care."