Horses for meat - Yes or No?

Blacklist said:
There already is a market for horse meat
Click to expand...

True, but am I right in thinking you'd get about £500 for an average-sized horse? Are you not still (current market conditions notwithstanding) likely to get more on the riding horse market on average?

And there is a cultural issue too... My horse dentist was telling me last week that she had to call Redwings on 3 horses that appeared to have been abandoned on a bit of land near one of her other customers'... It would appear that (some) people in this country had rather let unwanted horses starve rather than send them to the meat man.

Incidentally, Redwings were full to the brink and said they couldn't take any more...
 
GinnieRedwings said:
True, but am I right in thinking you'd get about £500 for an average-sized horse? Are you not still (current market conditions notwithstanding) likely to get more on the riding horse market on average?
Click to expand...

I'm also pretty sure that Poland and Romania, who *do* produce horses for meat and export, can undercut that price.

GinnieRedwings said:
And there is a cultural issue too... My horse dentist was telling me last week that she had to call Redwings on 3 horses that appeared to have been abandoned on a bit of land near one of her other customers'... It would appear that (some) people in this country had rather let unwanted horses starve rather than send them to the meat man.

Incidentally, Redwings were full to the brink and said they couldn't take any more...
Click to expand...

Also true, and Redwings would never do what Ada Cole did in the 1920s and set up a humane horse abbatoir to prevent live exports (in lieu of just taking the horses in and looking after them for the rest of their life). Autre temps, autre moeurs. More reason that it's hard to imagine the horse meat industry picking up in the UK.
 
GinnieRedwings said:
True, but am I right in thinking you'd get about £500 for an average-sized horse? Are you not still (current market conditions notwithstanding) likely to get more on the riding horse market on average?

And there is a cultural issue too... My horse dentist was telling me last week that she had to call Redwings on 3 horses that appeared to have been abandoned on a bit of land near one of her other customers'... It would appear that (some) people in this country had rather let unwanted horses starve rather than send them to the meat man.

Incidentally, Redwings were full to the brink and said they couldn't take any more...
Click to expand...

Many people are having financial difficulty at the moment and finding customers even for descent horses is getting very hard, this can lead to all sorts of problems neglect being one of them - in addition not every horse owner is aware of the 'meat' market and I am only suggesting this as one of may options.

I maybe hadn't made myself clear - on the whole I am talking about horses at the end of their useful lives problem horses - but I suppose 'how long is a piece of string'

Ethically what is wrong with eating horses I personally would prefer a horse to leave our yard having had a good quality life - and go for meat (humanly slaughtered here in the UK) than to send it to someone for a companion etc - then past from pillar to post and not treated properly. Also when you consider the cost of alternative disposal the meat market is viable if humanly done.
 
Last edited:
I don't have any problem with the consumption of horse meat. I don't think I would like to try it myself but can't see any difference between a cow farmed for meat and a horse. I'd be uncomfortable with a family pet being sold into the human meat chain. The main thing is as with all animals they are treated humanely and that their life and death is as good as it can be.
 
Throughout history, man has had a special relationship with the horse, so much has been written about them, many famous men have been quoted for their observations about the beauty, the partnership, the times of loyalty and service in war and work.
Like the dog, horses hold a special place in our history and culture. We have a special relationship with them because of their usefulness and williness to adapt to the needs of society.
Horses can be sold for vast sums of money because of their skill and beauty. They cannot be compared to cattle and sheep because of their unique role.

I once watched a programme about a small American rancher, living a hard life in an adverse climate. When asked what happened to his working horses when they couldn't work anymore, he replied that they went to be sold for meat. He couldn't afford not to get some money back for the next horse. The man could hardly speak, his voice broke and he looked embarrassed as he wiped his eyes. He loved his horses, they were his livelihood and he felt the sense of betrayal to them keenly, but economics meant the deed had to be done.

No, I would not eat horse. I have plenty to eat living in a country where the shops are brimming with food.
 
Last edited:
Blacklist said:
Ethically what is wrong with eating horses I personally would prefer a horse to leave our yard having had a good quality life - and go for meat (humanly slaughtered here in the UK) than to send it to someone for a companion etc - then past from pillar to post and not treated properly. Also when you consider the cost of alternative disposal the meat market is viable if humanly done.
Click to expand...

Ethically, provided it is done humanely, there's nothing wrong in my view. I agree.

But practically, I think SusannaF is right, it's unlikely to happen for all sorts of reasons.
 
GinnieRedwings said:
It's about personal choice and cultural identity/habit, and thinking ill of the Chinese for eating dog meat is as wrong as a Muslim thinking ill of me for enjoying my bacon butty.
Click to expand...

That's more what I meant - to some animals don't have souls, irrespective of genus, therefore a comparison to a human could be the ultimate insult.

horserider said:
Throughout history, man has had a special relationship with the horse, so much has been written about them, many famous men have been quoted for their observations about the beauty, the partnership, the times of loyalty and service in war and work.
Like the dog, horses hold a special place in our history and culture. We have a special relationship with them because of their usefulness and williness to adapt to the needs of society.
Horses can be sold for vast sums of money because of their skill and beauty. They cannot be compared to cattle and sheep because of their unique role.
Click to expand...

Cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens etc all have a unique role. It's a personal decision as to whether one does or doesn't eat horse meat, or any other. In a way horses can be compared to other beasts of burden though - look at the role of the camel.

You've reminded me a horsey quote, that has an anon author
"Look back at man's struggle for freedom,
trace his present day's strength to it's source.
And you'll find that man's pathway to glory,
is strewn with the bones of a horse"

GinnieRedwings said:
Ethically, provided it is done humanely, there's nothing wrong in my view. I agree.

But practically, I think SusannaF is right, it's unlikely to happen for all sorts of reasons.
Click to expand...

I completely agree with the above.
 
Would I eat it MYSELF? NO Could I say, have it in my house for someone else to eat? No. BUT that said, that is my choice....I have no problem with others eating it, as long as as people have said, it has been slaughtered humanely, etc and also in my POV as long as I am not around. I am not being hypocritical...that is just how I feel towards them. I was raised a vegetarian and as i grew older I branched out into eating meat on my own but I am selective...I will eat beef, chicken, turkey, bacon, etc but won't eat things like veal, venison, liver, and various other things. That is my choice but again I have no problem if others eat them as I think everyone should have the choice...same as I don't want people having a go at me for not eating say, liver, I wouldn't have a go at them for eating horse meat. It's a free choice world.

That said, due to being very animal oriented i do know if I owned cows, pigs, chickens, etc i would not be able to eat them as they would pass from being a food product to being my friend...but still would not stop others. This has been a conversation I have many a time with a friend who is all for having a farm and butchering and eating his own stock whereas I on the other hand, whilst I will never ever have a go at someone for doing it, could not do it myself.....I could not say, rear and animal from birth and then send for slaughter and later have back on my dinner table....but that is MY CHOICE....and i won't push it on others......I just warn people that if I cook, not to expect anything of those types on the menu! LOL
 
Sportznight said:
In a way horses can be compared to other beasts of burden though - look at the role of the camel.
Click to expand...

My late father-in-law and my brother-in-law have bred and continue to breed some of the countries top racing camels here in Dubai. Their pedigrees go back generations, each one is an individual with their own characteristics and personalities. When they talk about them you can see the love they have for their animals in every sentence. However, camel is very often eaten here, but granted it is usually only saved for special occasions. If you are served camel at some ones home, it is considered a great honour.
 
The long view of our history horses is, roughly speaking, that the only use we had for them for 90,000 years was as meat. Then, 5,000 years ago we domesticated them for riding, and suddenly they became useful for transport and war.
If you had lots of grazing, you also ate your riding horses (ie Steppes hordes). If you didn't, you didn't, because they were scarce, and a taboo grew up. There was a papal edict against eating horse flesh in the first millennium BC (must check), which was probably issued because Europe was coming under attack from Arab horsemen from North Africa, and we needed all our horses for war.
The French (for example) only started eating horses as an everyday, acceptable meat in the mid-nineteenth century because the Industrial revolution meant that there were far more work horses and far more hungry and poor proletarians, so, doctors and social reformers argued, let them eat horse. :)
But there was a lot of controversy about it at the time, and some people argued that if they started to eat horses, the next thing they'd eat was dogs, and then humans.

Anyway, between the economic/war side of things and the changing way in which we see horses as companions and comrades, it's taboo in a lot of countries, but by no means in all.
 
More thoughts to add on the cultural side Great Artists have made paintings of horses, status has been gained, and social climbing done using horses just thoughts but they are contributing to what we feel about horses today I remember as a child being taken to the Tate gallery and spending hours looking at Stubbs and jus knowing that this was my cource in life so the horse runs deep in our culture a a non food source.
 
Last edited:
Blacklist said:
Maybe Tesco should do a promotion we've had Kangaroo
Click to expand...

Oh god no, I had a real taste for Kangaroo steaks if they started selling it in Tesco's I would be bankrupt! We humans are funny. My mum grew up eating homebred chickens when she lived in Narobi, never thought anything of it. She married my father moved to Yorkshire & after feeding & caring, then preparing & cooking the rabbits they kept in the same way as her parents kept hens, she could not eat the thing. She said she saw it's thigh on her plate & thought of the rabbit & that was it, she lost her appetite.
 
GinnieRedwings said:
Ditto ^^^

I am French, so I have eaten horse meat.
Click to expand...

Sorry, this had me smile! I'm French but have never eaten horse meat :-D
Not intending to as for me they are like pets and not for human consumption!
I am not against it though, if people want to eat it, it's their choice.
As other said, I am more concerned about the transport etc before they get killed...
 
Yes and I already do eat horse meat, very good flavour and healthy.
I rather see a failed horse on the plate than "rescued" and sometimes left in a field.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top