Horsemeat, anyone?

I think the last horse slaughterhouse in the states closed in '06.

That's correct.

I ride fairly often. Love horses. I guess the question for me is this, what do we do with the large number of homeless horses? Is it unethical to make some use of 1000lbs of protein? Understand that I am opposed to raising horses for meat, but, can we find a practical solution?

I know that horseparks now count your animals when you go in and again when you leave. Many desperate people abandon their animals at the park now. When slaughterhouses were available people didnt have to abandon them. What is the solution?

Please dont be angry with me for asking.

Good question. In my state, there's plenty of land and people who love horses. They buy several because they have land, don't realize how expensive it is, then can't take care of them. Just because you got a 100 acre pasture doesn't mean you can afford twenty or thirty horses but people buy them all the time and then they get worms and their health starts to get bad. Then, a horse rescue organization has to step in and take the horses, while the owners get charged with neglect. It's a good idea not to get into the horse business unless you got a lot of $$$$ saved, not just a chunk of land to pasture them on. That would stop a lot of it right there.

I don't see how you can call it barbaric? They are slaughtered in the same, humane, way as cattle, sheep, etc. It is just different, you think of horses as pets and, as such you think it's wrong to eat them. Not so in a lot of continental Europe. You need to set a boundary between animals as pets and as food. Horse meat is very low in fat and high in protein. It has a stronger flavour than beef and is recommended to be slow cooked on account of the low fat content. I can't believe that people are actually so offended by this...how different is it to eating a cow to be honest?


I don't think you have a moral right to complain about the Koreans anyway. The dogs that they eat are farmed for that purpose, no different to cows or sheep. But again the fact that you are calling it barbaric for people to eat these things, to me, makes you seem really rather closed minded to other cultures.

Agreed,, I never understand peeps who say such things, then tuck into beef and lamb!

Youre safe they closed all the Jack in the Box restaurants in the midwest years ago..

Theyre still open in Nevada and Cali...ick!!!!

That is because of the special relationship between certain animals and humans through work and play. Horses and dogs have worked with humans for hundreds of years and so have reached a different place in the chain than to be farmed for their meat.


Stoning people for adultery is accepted in other cultures it does not mean it is right.

There was a thread recently regarding your whereabouts and it was rumoured that you had in fact ended up on the dinning table as well :-)

For me the issue is about the way the animals are treated not the fact they are killed....In south east Asia they consider anything that moves a source of food , and that is their business , but what i object to is cruel treatment of animals....I have seen film of people skinning a cat alive , and then throwing the still living cat into boiling water..they consider that an animal that has been subject to stress has better flavoured meat....

I would not personally eat horsemeat , and certainly not a dog or cat , but if some people want to do that , and the laws of their country allow it its not for me to object....

I do however feel that any animal should be treated well , and not subjected to any cruelty...even if it is going to be eaten...!

They have a Chorizo Burrito on their Breakfast menu - gross !
Scrambled eggs, crumbled Chorizo sausage, hash brown sticks and Cheddar cheese sauce wrapped in a warm flour tortilla and served with a side of Fire Roasted Salsa

I could just imagine it being worse than the McDonalds burrito??<puke>

If they think McDonalds is bad in Europe wait untill Jack in the box comes!!!

Serioulsy I hope they dont, I wouldnt wish that place on my worst enemy:):)

Beautiful animal.. good for you.

I agree. I didn't really want horse at all so didn't eat it. I saw the dog stalls in Seoul too, no thanks!

You can sell horses at auctions, they just need a coggins test.
Horses die like any other creature, but not everyone will eat the horse meat.

It's dfferent with horses because they, with humans, pratically built civilization. Horses are sacred to humans and the entire human species should do everything they can to honor and protect them.

Good point, PP. They have served humans in cavalry attacks to defend nations, given untold pleasure to riders around the world (no pun intended) and are a visible manifestation of God's greatness!

Excuse me but refer back to my post number 38. PP has shall i say "stood on the shoulders of a giant" :-)))

Mankind have benefitted from horses more than any other animals which is why I believe only humans with money and passion for them should own them, not people who want to sell them for meat or people who love them but don't have the money to care for them properly and get more than they can afford to care for. I love horses more than anyone but you don't see me getting a 100 or so horses just because I love them. It takes more than love to keep a horse.

Horses deserve it more than any other species.

Mankind has benefitted, yes. Time Means, top post!!

Horses are a major undertaking, that's true. Sacrifices need to be made for career-oriented people in order to maintain them.

There are traditional dishes made by horse meat in middle asia. I have tried it in Uzbekistan it was a starter dish (cold horse meat) I just get one bite but didn't like it was hard and tasteless for me (maybe because of preparation). But I know it is eaten in many middle asia countries like Azerbaijan, Kirghizstan Turkmenistan. There is also a drink which is made from horse milk whose name is kumiss (kımız in Turkish).

People eat camels, too. I understand some parts of the world are traditional horse and camel eaters because that's all they had. It was that or not eat so I can understand where the taste and dishes originate. The problem I have is with Americans who will raise horses just to be slaughtered for their meat. That's subjecting the horses to the same conditions as beef cattle and horses merit more than that considering what they have contributed to mankind.

There is an obvious symbiotic relationship between dog - humans, horses - humans.. thus they should not be dinner.

Again, very true. It could pass as acceptable in the name of survival, but otherwise? Nah!

Some people have little idea what it takes to look after a horse properly...Daughter is mad on horses , so dad buys her one , thinking that its just a matter of putting it in a field and letting it free grass...Little thought is given to how much its going to cost to feed it in the winter , house it , transport it , and pay the huge vets bills if something goes wrong...

I have spent quite a bit of time around these lovely creatures , so have some idea of the hard work involved in owning one...and probably another reason i would not want to eat one....

Don't think I'll be craving a Jumbo Jack any time soon. Yuck!

Why is it that cuddly little lambs, pink piglets and cute little calves, which also can serve as pets, do not generate the sympathy and commiseration that horses do as potential edibles?

I seen them still open when I was in Vegas
I hate that whiteball that smiles at you...lol

We dont have In and out Burger here either, they have the best double cheeseburger around
without the orange mayo of course:)

Do they still have Del Taco in L.A.? I remember that place being pretty nasty.

Yes, Del Taco's still here. The only thing I order from them, are plain chicken tacos for my dog.

Heart wrenching to see such neglect. People that neglect and hurt animals are not human. It says a lot about people when their cruel to animals. Krysia, that's incredible what you do for these horses...and that says a lot about you!

Hmmm I wonder if that could be considered animal cruelty...lol