Killing Horses for Humans to Eat!

Status
Not open for further replies.
I have always thought that if people could get over the idea of eating their furred pets that that is the ticket for the overpopulation of dogs and cats would be to find a way to prepare them as food. It just doesn't make sense to not make use of these creatures that are being incinerated by the thousands and dumped in landfills and all that...Then again I can't imagine a field of pasture puppies getting fed for slaughter...but it would be a great way to clear out animal shelters. I mean if it is going to die anyway, may as well put it to use.
 
I love horses...I have had horses all of my life with the exception of the last few years. I don't see any problem with eating horses. No different than eating chicken, beef or pork. I think people have a problem with it because we ride horses...It is a bond and a burden not shared with many other animals. Donkey and camels are the only other 2 that pop out in my mind. Horses have helped mankind, and hold a special position. They have been partners in war, hunting and plowing fields for centurys. Now their "jobs" are all but gone.
 
Last edited:
People eat bison,elk,deer,camels ect...why not a horse? I personaly dont think i would eat it..but hell people eat dolphins!
 
Went to a great conference for small meat producers and Dr. Temple Grandin talked about this. The choice is to slaughter horses here in the US where at least there are regulations about slaughter plants (my opinions of big ag could start a whole new thread but we'll skip that for now) where the horses are stunned and then killed. Or, we can continue what happens now, where horses are sent to Mexico and slaughtered in an incredibly inhumane way involving a giant spike in the back of the neck, which is rarely totally effective s they are in essence hacked to death.
So regardless of the "would you eat horse" question- what is happening now is horrible from an animal welfare standpoint.
 
I agree, if we are shipping horses to other countries to be slaugthered....It makes no difference if it would be done here. Only jobs would be created and the horses going to slaughter would be ALOT better off.
 
When my step father was living in Arizona - not sure if this was his pre-Vietnam, or just after- one of the Government offices / food bank places gave out horse meat once a week, in fairly large quantities.
(This is all according to MANY stories he has told me, but I can't claim to KNOW it is true, or specifics. I usually hear "blah, blah, blah" after a while when he starts in on the SAME stories AGAIN.)

But he speaks very fondly of the chilli they made, and credits that meat with his survival during VERY lean times.
I can say that, today, I would NOT eat horse meat, but if my children & I were starving and that was all we could afford, I can't say I would turn my nose up at it.
One thing you do need to know is that we in the horse industry in the United States do not raise our horses for human consumption or food product...so no one who has horses is going to refrain from using phenylbutazone or other drugs designed to keep horses comfortable, healthy or performing. They are performance animals, athletes, and luxury companions. You may want to take that into consideration before deciding to eat it. There are many drugs out there administered to horses that the European Union has deemed unsafe for human consumption, thus, the block on shipping US horse meat to certain countries and most horses raised in the US will be tainted meat. This is one of the reasons that US slaughterhouses have remained closed.
 
If you can remember the link I posted a few pages back on YouTube, with THAT one processing company, guessing Europe, maybe France, it was as humane it can be. When you "bolt", it is NORMAL for the animal to react, jerking and so forth. That means the bolt gun has stun the animal to its death, its quick. Surely they would not allow an inexperience "bolter" person to do the job, its not fair to the person nor the horse to suffer when you are trying to get a good aim so it would be quick and painless. It is like rabbits we butcher, a hammer to the head, slit their throats, it's done. They HAVE to slit the throats to bleed out, you sure don't want blood to collect there, making the meat have "off taste". In that YouTube, I've seen the whole thing and it is not any different than cattle. Yes, horses are a bit sensitive but I have not seen all of them going bonkers, they just don't know what it is at the end of the tunnel but they do sense something is up.

I would not eat my own horses but for others, I would. A horse with NO name, sight unseen, is the better one for me to eat. I don't know if I can just pick a horse out of the pasture and say OK, wrap him up.

I will check out those links to see if they can offer horsemeat for me to try. My Dad wants to try it too.
See my post above.
 
I have always thought that if people could get over the idea of eating their furred pets that that is the ticket for the overpopulation of dogs and cats would be to find a way to prepare them as food. It just doesn't make sense to not make use of these creatures that are being incinerated by the thousands and dumped in landfills and all that...Then again I can't imagine a field of pasture puppies getting fed for slaughter...but it would be a great way to clear out animal shelters. I mean if it is going to die anyway, may as well put it to use.
Again, see my post above. We don't raise dogs and cats here for consumption purposes. Anybody on here who has had to wait to slaughter any food animals or collect eggs because of medications and withdrawal periods will know that.
 
Went to a great conference for small meat producers and Dr. Temple Grandin talked about this. The choice is to slaughter horses here in the US where at least there are regulations about slaughter plants (my opinions of big ag could start a whole new thread but we'll skip that for now) where the horses are stunned and then killed. Or, we can continue what happens now, where horses are sent to Mexico and slaughtered in an incredibly inhumane way involving a giant spike in the back of the neck, which is rarely totally effective s they are in essence hacked to death.
So regardless of the "would you eat horse" question- what is happening now is horrible from an animal welfare standpoint.
Yes, and people also have to realize that many horses have a horrific experience being trucked to Mexico...if they are sold here in the Midwest or the east, think of how far of a trip that is. That is a difficult trip to prepare for in the best of conditions...I know because I have not only imported from Canada but have exported one of my home-bred foals. I used to buy and sell horses once upon a time for the purpose of redirecting them out of auctions and into riding homes and I had a lot of contact with kill buyers...I don't know of any who unloaded their horses enroute to a slaughter house for food and water stops, and slaughterhouses generally operate year round. It is also illegal now to sell horses to the slaughter truck that are unfit for travel, but that doesn't mean that people don't still do it, and I have personally witnessed one horrific case where a horse was three-legged lame on a front leg and the owner sold him to slaughter rather than pay the vet to heal him or euthanize him (which was the vet's recommendation by that time.) This was a family pet and a child-broke horse sold out by the father in the family from a boarding stable...had I been there at the time I would have called the police and thrown a fit, but unfortunately I was not. DeKalb's slaughterhouse was not operating at the time, so this horse had to endure a journey of hundreds of miles to where he was going...an old family pet who had more than paid his dues and deserved better. I reamed the stable owner out a good one on that for allowing such a thing to happen right there in front of her. I swear I would have bought him and euthanized him myself if I had known what was coming for him. I wonder to this day if that horse got to his destination without being trampled to death in the trailer...I had initially detected the infection in the knee capsule and the fever in his leg, and recommended euthanization, and by the time they got the vet out (because after all, what does someone schooled as a farrier know? Why should they have the vet out?!
somad.gif
) it had ruptured and was seeping a stinking pus, which led the vet to concur because of the costs involved in treatment and the likelihood of future unsoundness. Very bad story. Everybody has their own personal ghosts that haunt them, and this is one of mine after 21 years of being in horses.
 
Last edited:
I dont think the "horse people" would be all over them but the P people and the "unmentionable" folks have alot to do with it. I agree with Magicsaddlebred, we are the ones that created the problem however we did have alternatives by sending them to slaughter to make into pet food or people food if the animal was fattened up for that purpose or a merciful way that the breeder/owner could do for the horse. If I was a horse, regardless of my owner's wishes, if I can feed your family or feed your animals, then I would rather go that route of being butchered. If I am not to be used, as a beloved pet and a friend to you, you do not wish to eat me, putting me to sleep is the way to go. Make it quick and merciful for the human brain to understand.

Look at mustangs, if we have so many of them, they would end up dying and the predators would have a field day. Not everyone can adopt a horse, not everyone can afford a horse, and not everyone have the facilities for a horse nor the care, devotion and vet bills when the ecomonic standpoint is down.
Don't bet on it just being the P people. Slaughter is one of the hottest hot-button issues in the horse industry. Knowing the industry and people in it as I do, I would say it's about a 50/50 split, at least here in the Midwest. However, there are now penalties being imposed on some owners and trainers, especially by racetracks, that sell to slaughter. The industry is doing some policing of its own because it looks very bad for the industry in the public eye for this to be allowed to get by without people taking personal responsibility. The industry is in enough jeopardy without a huge public outcry. There is even talk of outlawing Lasix in racehorses now.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom