Three police horses were among the casualties in this weekend’s race riots in Bradford.
The three were injured on Saturday night when 16 horses were deployed in an attempt to contain street violence. A West Yorkshire police spokeswoman said: “The horses and riders came under a ferocious attack in Whiteabbey Rd over a three- to four-hour period.
“Neither the horses nor the riders had experienced such a sustained and violent attack before. They were pelted with stones and other missiles”.
All the horses were examined by a vet before they went back to their stables at Carr Gate in Wakefield.
One of the horses, a seven-year- old 16.3hh bay gelding called Wilson, had stitches to the chest. He’s thought either to have been stabbed or caught by a falling slate from a roof.
Two 10-year-old dark bays, 17.2hh Brennan and 17.1hh Ebor sustained cuts on their legs.
All three horses are expected to make a full recovery but won’t be back at work for at least a week.
David McDowell, equine veterinary officer at the RSPCA says: “We are always concerned to make sure horses are not put in danger but when you ask horses to do a job you have to accept accidents will happen. We would call on the police to make sure that all necessary precautions are put in place and we would like to know how frequently horses are injured in their work.”
More than 10 hours of the riots by white and Asian youths on Saturday left more than 120 police officers injured, two people stabbed and pubs, shops and cars set alight.
