The passing of the riderless horses, an image of anarchic violence loosed upon the land, marks a turning point for Giorgio. Note that for all its frightening aspect, the image is one of liberation, and Giorgio is the great liberator. Standing in the sun, however, and disillusioned over the meaningless chaos of the riot, his response is to turn "away from the dust" (i.e., the great struggle) and voice the necessity of re-capturing the horses (i.e., restraining liberty for the sake of order). He might see the recapturing as desirable or merely inevitable, but either way it will happen.

See the later reference to these horses in Chapter 3-1.