Horses for Meat

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www.skeltonhorses.co.uk
I am probably opening a LARGE CAN OF WORMS, here goes:

What does the forum think on the subject of eating horses. If a horse has had a good life and is humanely slaughtered here in UK then exported for meat to the Continent - why is the right/wrong? and why don't we eat horseflesh here in the UK. Is is not really any different to an agricultural meat animal - except we ride them.
 
Itcould be due to the fact that you cant domesticate a cow sheep or pig in the same way as a horse. Horses have been servants to man for thousands of years, wars, farming transport to name a few. Cattle and other farm animal are bred for food. Other countries have a differant attitude to horse meat, but in this country it has never really been accepted as the norm. I personally could never eat horse meat any more than I could eat dog meat, which is also exepted in the far east.
 
I don't have a problem with other people eating horse meat if they want to (if it is all done humanely ofcourse) But i just couldn't do it myself. When i even think about it i just see Lucy :( she was destined for the meat man when i got her and just look at the life she's had. :) It would be like eating my own family.
 
i just have a problem with horses being transported for miles to be slaughtered.

If they are slaughtered over here.... then meat shipped then imo thats acceptable.

Horse slaughter is necessary....not a nice thing but its necessary.
 
It doesn't bother me. I keep sheep and pigs for meat and I give them the best life / living conditions possible and ensure that they have a quiet respectful death. I don't get attached to them. I find myself more empathetic towards horses and wouldn't feel able to eat any of my current animals which are all very much pets or friends. I suppose what I mean is that I have a relationship with them beyond my being the giver of food and them responding to that. I suppose I could possibly run a couple of youngsters and grow them for meat but I do suspect I would find myself becoming friends with them too - and that would make it difficult.

I prefer not to take my animals elsewhere for slaughter as they are not used to travelling and I don't see why they should be stressed and upset on their way to their death. Whilst I could get a couple of young horses used to travelling that would imply them having a level of trust in me that would mean we had an understanding relationship and that would be back to making it difficult to eat them.
 
Just to add, commercial animals such as beef, lambs etc, are slaughtered at a very young age. To slaughter a horse of say 19 yrs old after it has had a useful life on this earth it would be as tough as old boots. So that brings it round to breeding them for meat inthe first place and slautering them at a young age.
 
pastie2 said:
Just to add, commercial animals such as beef, lambs etc, are slaughtered at a very young age. To slaughter a horse of say 19 yrs old after it has had a useful life on this earth it would be as tough as old boots. So that brings it round to breeding them for meat inthe first place and slautering them at a young age.
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We kill our old sheep for meat. Mutton is quite sought after nowadays and properly prepared and cooked appropriately is no tougher than lamb. You need a decent butcher who knows how to make the most of the meat but well cooked mutton is an extremely nice meal. There's no reason why properly butchered, kept and cooked horse meat should be tough as old boots.
 
I have never eaten horse, I think I would like to try it one day, just to satisfy my curiosity :D

And pastie, I think any 19yo horse that gets slaughtered will be dogfood! as you say, it will be tough and no good.

I dont see to much differance in breeding horses for meat than cattle, it has been pointed out that horses have been used for many purposes - Eg: agricultural, but so have cattle and oxen.

I also dont see how other animals cannot be domesticated the same way as horses - any that are shown have to be pretty tame and I have seen (on TV) pigs that are better trained and more sociable than many dogs I know.....

In short - why are horses so special?
 
jemima_too said:
We kill our old sheep for meat. Mutton is quite sought after nowadays and properly prepared and cooked appropriately is no tougher than lamb. You need a decent butcher who knows how to make the most of the meat but well cooked mutton is an extremely nice meal. There's no reason why properly butchered, kept and cooked horse meat should be tough as old boots.
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I understand what you are saying. A lot of people will eat mutton, but you will never see it in the supermarkets. But if we opened the barrier for horse meat in this country, and look at the big picture, it wouldnt be long before we are breeding and farming horses simply for food. I dont know about you, but I somehow find it unexeptable.
 
KitKat_89 said:
I have never eaten horse, I think I would like to try it one day, just to satisfy my curiosity :D

And pastie, I think any 19yo horse that gets slaughtered will be dogfood! as you say, it will be tough and no good.

I dont see to much differance in breeding horses for meat than cattle, it has been pointed out that horses have been used for many purposes - Eg: agricultural, but so have cattle and oxen.

I also dont see how other animals cannot be domesticated the same way as horses - any that are shown have to be pretty tame and I have seen (on TV) pigs that are better trained and more sociable than many dogs I know.....

In short - why are horses so special?
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If you eaten Chorizo or Italian sausage you've probably already munched an equine!
 
KitKat_89 said:
I have never eaten horse, I think I would like to try it one day, just to satisfy my curiosity :D

And pastie, I think any 19yo horse that gets slaughtered will be dogfood! as you say, it will be tough and no good.

I dont see to much differance in breeding horses for meat than cattle, it has been pointed out that horses have been used for many purposes - Eg: agricultural, but so have cattle and oxen.

I also dont see how other animals cannot be domesticated the same way as horses - any that are shown have to be pretty tame and I have seen (on TV) pigs that are better trained and more sociable than many dogs I know.....

In short - why are horses so special?
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I simply dispair. This post does not warant a reply.
 
I've nothing against eating any animal if it has a good life and is humainly killed, without the massive trek to the slaughter house... I wouldn't eat anything battery farmed, or cruelly reared, like foie gras or veal. I'd rather a horse be killed for meat, than live its life in pain or suffering..

I ate horsemeat in France years ago. Didn't taste much different to beef really.
 
pastie2 said:
Itcould be due to the fact that you cant domesticate a cow sheep or pig in the same way as a horse. Horses have been servants to man for thousands of years, wars, farming transport to name a few. Cattle and other farm animal are bred for food. Other countries have a differant attitude to horse meat, but in this country it has never really been accepted as the norm. I personally could never eat horse meat any more than I could eat dog meat, which is also exepted in the far east.
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You can domesticate any 'Farm' animal in the same way. In the 1970's a local farmer actually broke a cow rode it and jumped it I think it was featured on 'Blue Peter'
 
I have no problem with horse meat either, if, as Honey says, it has had a good life, a short, sympathetic trip to slaughter and a humanely handled death.

I would much prefer this than to see how some horses end up - neglected, ignored, beaten, starved and abandoned by humans they once trusted. That herd of piebalds on the thread here the other day, in such awful condition.... What's better?

And yes, I've eaten horse meat.
 
pastie2 said:
Just to add, commercial animals such as beef, lambs etc, are slaughtered at a very young age. To slaughter a horse of say 19 yrs old after it has had a useful life on this earth it would be as tough as old boots. So that brings it round to breeding them for meat inthe first place and slautering them at a young age.
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Not true - apparantly older horses are not tough, a horses meat ages in a different way to cattle etc, they can be tender at 20.
 
Blacklist said:
You can domesticate any 'Farm' animal in the same way. In the 1970's a local farmer actually broke a cow rode it and jumped it I think it was featured on 'Blue Peter'
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Yes but this is not really the norm is it, I have a pet ram who is 13 yrs old, due to circumstances beyond his control. If I let him out with the other sheep he would soon revert to a normal sheep. A horse wouldnt.
 
I do not have a problem with horse meat being eaten, I am more concerned that they (as well as any other animals) have a good life as long as they are alive.

I agree with the posters above who mentioned that there may be issues concerning transporting the horses to the continent for meat production. I would also be concerned about handling and the standards at the abattoirs in countries that aren't as animal friendly as the UK.
 
Horse meat - fine.

Long distance transportation of horses to slaughter, with all that does with it - terrified horses, packed into tiny spaces, terrible injuries, diseases because the stress kills their immune systems, no water, no rest, no food - not fine at all. www.worldhorsewelfare.org for more on how to help end these journeys, which are happening in Europe as we type.

But horse meat itself - fine. I probably wouldn't choose to eat it. But have no problem with others doing so as long as the horses didn't suffer in the process of producing it.
 
pastie2, I don't consider sheep or cows "lesser" animals than horses and would be just as concerned about welfare standards and humane handling for them. If you observe them closely you will see that they have personalities just like horses.
 
Aparently horse meat is about its best around the age of 7 however it can be eaten older as long as the horse has not been subjected to hard work. So probably the horse of 19 may not be as good as a younger version.

I have no problem of horses being slaughtered for meat as long as they have been correctly cared for, and slaughtered locally, much the same as I do not have a problem of pigs, sheep and cows being slaughtered for meat, I would not choose to eat horse meat though but that is because I cannot dissociate it from my own horse out in the field, although I must confess I love chorzo.

Farm animals can certainly be domesticated much the same as horses, pigs prehaps more so as they are very intellegent do you remember it used to be trendy to have a pot bellied pig as a pet.
 
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I don't agree with it at all (in fact just thinking about it makes me feel slightly queasy, like thinking about someone eating a family member) BUT I feel pretty much the same about eating any meat (I'm a vegan), so at least I'm consistent!

Ironically the thinking that many of the posters are giving here as to why eating horse-meat is acceptable is part of the reason I became veggie in the first place. I knew I could never eat horse as interacted, become attached, and knew that they were individuals, but then thought I'd probably feel the same about a pet cow or sheep if I had one!
 
_CJ_ said:
pastie2, I don't consider sheep or cows "lesser" animals than horses and would be just as concerned about welfare standards and humane handling for them. If you observe them closely you will see that they have personalities just like horses.
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For gods sake I have farmed most of my life, you can not afford to have "personalities" in farming, its a hand to mouth existence. My entire family have been envolved in farming. You dont have time to form a bond with 2,000 sheep. I am in the real world. I would just like to separate my interest, horses with commercial animals. Yes farm animals here are treated with respect, they have everythingthat they deserve.
 
My view is once the animal is dead that's it - you can't hurt it any more and whether you eat it or not makes no odds to that animal. I have seen plenty of footage of animal slaughter - including horses - and when it's done well, I hav no problem with it.

I probably have eaten horsemeat unknowingly in Italy, but I wouldn't choose to eat it knowingly. That's my choice though. It's partly because as the law stands at the moment, there's no way to know where a horse has come from - the food labelling law only shows where the animal was slaughtered and not where it was raised - so there's no way to know if the horse one is eating is a horse that has travelled hundreds of miles, passing hundreds of slaughterhouses that could have taken it...:(
 
The difference between cows, sheep and pigs going to slaughter to feed mankind is that these animals were created for this purpose 2 hooved animals, they do not have the flight fright mind, whereas horses being a full hooved animal were created to carry man to fight his enemy and therefore this bond was formed. Yes horses not only carried their rider for many miles but they also did feed their rider at the end of the day when the rider (being in the army) had nothing left to survive on. The problem with the flight fright is that they do not do well at abbatoirs. Whilst i agree i would rather see them killed than suffer without food or water etc, but it is the fear that they have when at the abbatoir and the person pulling the gun bolt is a human they trusted in. I would say, but could be wrong, please correct me but 80% of horses sent to slaughter have been handled by man and were not bred for the meat trade and therefore had no dealings with man. It is a sad situation really and could cause a lot of upsets amongst good friends.
 
Spudlet said:
My view is once the animal is dead that's it - you can't hurt it any more and whether you eat it or not makes no odds to that animal. I have seen plenty of footage of animal slaughter - including horses - and when it's done well, I hav no problem with it.

I probably have eaten horsemeat unknowingly in Italy, but I wouldn't choose to eat it knowingly. That's my choice though. It's partly because as the law stands at the moment, there's no way to know where a horse has come from - the food labelling law only shows where the animal was slaughtered and not where it was raised - so there's no way to know if the horse one is eating is a horse that has travelled hundreds of miles, passing hundreds of slaughterhouses that could have taken it...:(
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When the horse is dead its dead, I know that, but dont you think allowing horses to be reared and bred for meat in this country that it would be the thin end of the wedge. More and more dealers would appear on the scene, fields will be full of horses fattening for slaughter, just look at the bigger picture. What do you think Jamie Grays business was!
 
pastie2 said:
I simply dispair. This post does not warant a reply.
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LOL :D

I just want to clarify (not that it makes much differance) but i feel there is a differance between eating your lifelong pet and companion, and eating horsemeat, from an animal that was bred and raised for that purpose, and has not know the kind of relationship with people that a pet or competition horse would.

And pastie - Thanks for replying to my post, unwarranted as it was :p
 
It's true that horses are physically and physiologically different to other farm animals - they have a higher centre of gravity and inherently unstable body shape, which makes them nimbler and faster than cows etc, but also less well adapted to long journeys - and higher levels of stress hormones making them faster to react to unfamiliar situations. These are just a couple of reasons why it is wrong to transport them over long distances for slaughter.

However if you look at footage from Potters, you will see no fear or panic - just calm and humane handling, IME. The humane slaughter of horses is not the issue. It is the potential suffering caused by excessive journeys that is the big problem.
 
skolliecrubycben said:
The difference between cows, sheep and pigs going to slaughter to feed mankind is that these animals were created for this purpose 2 hooved animals, they do not have the flight fright mind, whereas horses being a full hooved animal were created to carry man to fight his enemy and therefore this bond was formed. Yes horses not only carried their rider for many miles but they also did feed their rider at the end of the day when the rider (being in the army) had nothing left to survive on. The problem with the flight fright is that they do not do well at abbatoirs. Whilst i agree i would rather see them killed than suffer without food or water etc, but it is the fear that they have when at the abbatoir and the person pulling the gun bolt is a human they trusted in. I would say, but could be wrong, please correct me but 80% of horses sent to slaughter have been handled by man and were not bred for the meat trade and therefore had no dealings with man. It is a sad situation really and could cause a lot of upsets amongst good friends.
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Pmsl, well then we deffinately shouldnt ride camals! And I can tell you, plenty of sheep and cattle have a flight or fight mind! Unfortunately in some situations...... It would make an easy life farming if they didnt! :D
 
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