When & where I grew up in Northern Utah old horses where sent to the slaughter house to be turned into mink feed. Many arrived by train and were driven over streets in town to the holding pen. Mink ranches were big business in those days.

Judge Jerry,
Thanks for the reply. I can certainly think of a few horses over the years who would have served a much better purpose as a meal than a riding horse.

Rich,

Just got back from "justice" in eastern Idaho. I am glad you liked the sausage and salami, I will bring more down after you get back from your safari.

By the way, don't lose that 9.3 x74R anywhere!!
Sid has her eye set on that one.

The jerky was good, but not great. My fault, I didn't stir it enough while it was soaking, got an uneven distribution of cure. It will be perfect "beer" jerky. The more you drink, the better it will taste.

I will have great jerky for you when you get back.

Jerry

quote:

Do you eat your horses?

No, but they get a beer when I drink a whiskey...

I ate horsemeat in Switzerland and, while the idea did not bother me too much, I found the taste too sweet for my liking.

No worries on that account Jerry. That sale to your lovely wife is going to finance about 40% of my trip in 2011. And, I know it is going to a good home and someone who will put it to good use.

Rich
DRSS
SA bound

Many times, in Europe and years ago here in the US. The Harvard Faculty Club in Cambridge used to serve it. In those days you could also order a whale steak at Cronin's.

I've eaten it raw, thinly-sliced in Japan where it is a delicacy - it is much safer to eat raw than beef because apparently it has no parasites that attack humans. I don't know, but I suspect that the meat horses in Japan are raised for this purpose - not near-dead nags that are put out of their misery and then eaten.

Never ate horse. Doesn't seem appealing to me, but I ate a Llama once. I butchered the bastard out of spite, but as it turned out he cooked up pretty good, about the same as elk.

KB

My folks swore that during WWII a LOT of people ate horsemeat and didn't know it . . .

I once read an article in a kinda weird cookbook that theorized we don't eat horsemeat because there is no non-animal name for it. Cow meat is beef, pig meat is pork, sheep meat is mutton, most wild game is venison, etc.

But we eat chicken without a problem, and lamb, and some others, so maybe that theory doesn't hold up as well as the notion horses are pets and thus off-limit for eating.

I'd eat a nice horse steak if it were as tender as beef, and not dangerous due to medications, etc.

ate some horsemeat hamburgers in Spain,,,loved it!!,about the only meat I'd draw a line at would be carrion fed bear or a possum that just crawled out of the carcas of a 15 day old road killed deer.A thick slab of ole Ben,a nice semi sweet red,a prissy boney girlfriend and a morrocan cigarette,and I'm a frenchman!!!!!
LOVE THAT HORSE MEAT!!!!!!!!!

A few of the things I learned traveling the world in my youth...
There is a difference between something being edible and being good to eat. Horsemeat is good to eat. Some dogs are good to eat, but others are only edible...doberman is good to eat.... all cats are good to eat...seagulls are inedible.

quote:

Originally posted by Bukken:
Here in Norway, people gang up in two different camps on eating horses. I have enjoyed a few horse steaks myself, and see only rights and no wrongs in that. How about you AR forumists, what do yoy think about horse for main course, and do you have any good tricks in store for tendering the meat?

I haven't ever eaten one, but I had one bite my ear pretty darn hard once so I wouldn't mind eating a horse steak in the slightest bit.

quote:

Originally posted by stigonom:
Stuff like ban on horse meat makes me wonder about the sanity on some people. It relay gets to me. how can they possible be so stupid. Not that I want to eat a lot of horse meat, but a ban just dont make sense.

STIG

Me too!

I bought a horse for my wife about 10 or so years ago. The money spent on her pet would have bought a lot of steaks. I figure if I butcher him now, he'd be worth about a thousand dollars a pound......and taste like shoe leather.

My wifes indian name is "Five Horses".
Nag,Nag Nag Nag Nag

I've never tried eating horse meat and don't think I will... a "phsycological" thing I guess... I'm not condemming those who do but our horses are our friends, they bring in extra business through horseback hunts / trails and I can't fathom the idea of eating a steak coming from "Pilgrim", "Pitzi", "Joco" or "Zhough"... Somehow that doesn't seem right... to each his own...

But... my wife has pre-requisites as far as our horses (and all the other domestic animals around here) go"...

They will NOT be picked up from our ranch and be killed elsewhere. If they HAD to be killed for whatever reason - it has to happen here on our ranch under supervision (we have to be present), they should not suffer... so I) must do the killing and she must keep watch... Thankfully this is a task I have not had to do... YET!

And the animal is not to be wasted - i.e. it has to be put to some use so that the it did not die without reason...

For example...

One of our domestic pigs died here the other day... wasn't sure what the cause was so I took it to the State Vet for an autopsy... When it was determined the pig was disease-free, I was instructed to go and collect the carcass so we could freeze it and use it as leopard bait later this year - that way the pig would not have died in vain!

I sincerely hope one of our horses do not die anytime soon as I have no space left in the freezer - irrespective of the demand for leopard bait around here!

I tried horse and zebra and liked both. I don't have a problem to eat horse but I would (of course) never eat one of my horses.

quote:

Do you eat your horses?

If I ate my horse I wouldn't be able to ride him.

quote:

Originally posted by D99:

quote:

Originally posted by stigonom:
Stuff like ban on horse meat makes me wonder about the sanity on some people. It relay gets to me. how can they possible be so stupid. Not that I want to eat a lot of horse meat, but a ban just dont make sense.

STIG

Me too!

Take if from a person who worked hard to keep the ban from happening...the Greenie/bunny-hugger/PETA/animal rights folks GOT LOTS OF PULL!!!

As Hunters...we need to heed this!!!!!!!!!

My father used to butcher and process horses that had died or that he had finished off. He used them as dogfood for his pack of hunting dogs. This was back in the early '60s before processed dog food was as predominant as it is today. He always kept 15 - 20 hounds for lion and bear hunting.

One time he had a horse hung up in a tree and was getting ready to skin it. Three of his paying customers arriving for a guided lion hunt came down the trail behind the barn and corral and saw him and got really upset. They thought he was getting their supper ready!

His standard retort whenever anyone ever asked him what to bring for an upcoming hunt or even to visit him was always... "bring lots of dogfood."

I figure horses are kind of like dogs. Don't get too attach too them, Because you might have to eat them someday.

quote:

Originally posted by Oxon:
I've eaten it raw, thinly-sliced in Japan where it is a delicacy - it is much safer to eat raw than beef because apparently it has no parasites that attack humans. I don't know, but I suspect that the meat horses in Japan are raised for this purpose - not near-dead nags that are put out of their misery and then eaten.

Bazashi.

Essentially, horse sashimi.

I don't believe the Japanese raise meat horses, like the French do with the Breton or other breeds.

I visited what passes for horse country in Japan and I got the distinct impression that the horses they eat are thoroughbreds who didn't make the grade as race horses.

The fact is I've eaten more horses than I ever rode.

Cannibal!

I would eat horse only if I was starving, but until such time I'll pass on eating a horse..I don't care for Zebra but I have eaten plenty of it, but hell they are not a horse, they bark!

Same goes for dogs, only if I'm starving..

I ate fried mountain lion backstraps once while visiting a ranch in Mexico, and it was very good.

My favorite Mexican delicacy is Menudo, and Lord knows whats in that, depending on where you order it!

quote:

Originally posted by Skipper488:
I'm not sure why Americans are so squemish when it comes to eating horse? I've traveled all over the world and eaten things I consider much worse than horse.

I don't think most Americans would be squemish about eating horse meat if they could buy it pre-packaged and inspected at the meat counter in the grocery store.

I've eaten lots of horse meat, bought at a little butcher shop in San Jose, California back in the days when I was 16 years old and trying to attend college on my own dime at San Jose State. Used to feed it to my dates, too, when I had them over for dinner. Most didn't know it wasn't lean beef.

But, most of the folks I know wouldn't eat their OWN horses. Most would think it was a churlish sign of disrespect for an animal which had already given its services for most of its life, voluntarily or involuntarily.

I like horse meat, but as Rich's original post in this thread said, I don't eat my children either, and my horses are a lot more deserving of my respect than most kids.

Come to think of it I believe Tom Swift's "Modest Poposal" had a lot more going for it than eating a faithful, loyal, servant does.

Better a good retirement for the horse, and a peaceful grave out in the pastures it loved to romp and eat in. Fact is, I'd like to eventually be buried out there next to them when it comes time for all that.

I live down here on the border and I'm not eating horse, dog, cat, or menudo. When I was in Africa I didn't eat any zebra, monkeys or tripe either. Ate bushbuck and greater kudu that I had killed myself, that was very good.

quote:

Do you eat your horses?

No

That's one of the advantages of a horse, opposed to an auto. When the horse does not work/perform, you can shoot him and eat him.

Jim

Just saw news today that made me want to re-read this thread. Just for the record, I do not own horses, so I have no dog in this fight, but I would not be opposed to eating horse. Heck, once you've tried to stomach porcupine, horse doesn't sound too bad at all!

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011...-us/?test=latestnews

The article:

TULSA, Okla. – Horses could soon be butchered in the U.S. for human consumption after Congress quietly lifted a 5-year-old ban on funding horse meat inspections, and activists say slaughterhouses could be up and running in as little as a month.

Slaughter opponents pushed a measure cutting off funding for horse meat inspections through Congress in 2006 after other efforts to pass outright bans on horse slaughter failed in previous years. Congress lifted the ban in a spending bill President Barack Obama signed into law Nov. 18 to keep the government afloat until mid-December.

It did not, however, allocate any new money to pay for horse meat inspections, which opponents claim could cost taxpayers $3 million to $5 million a year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture would have to find the money in its existing budget, which is expected to see more cuts this year as Congress and the White House aim to trim federal spending.

The USDA issued a statement Tuesday saying there are no slaughterhouses in the U.S. that butcher horses for human consumption now, but if one were to open, it would conduct inspections to make sure federal laws were being followed. USDA spokesman Neil Gaffney declined to answer questions beyond what was in the statement.

Although there are reports of Americans dining on horse meat a recently as the 1940s, the practice is virtually non-existent in this country, where the animals are treated as beloved pets and iconic symbols of the West.

The last U.S. slaughterhouse that butchered horses closed in 2007 in Illinois, and animal welfare activists warned of massive public outcry in any town where a slaughterhouse may open.
"If plants open up in Oklahoma or Nebraska, you'll see controversy, litigation, legislative action and basically a very inhospitable environment to operate," predicted Wayne Pacelle, president and chief executive of The Humane Society of the United States.

But pro-slaughter activists say the ban had unintended consequences, including an increase in neglect and the abandonment of horses, and that they are scrambling to get a plant going -- possibly in Wyoming, North Dakota, Nebraska or Missouri.

They estimate a slaughterhouse could open in 30 to 90 days with state approval and eventually as many as 200,000 horses a year could be slaughtered for human consumption. Most of the meat would be shipped to Europe and Asia, where it's treated as a delicacy.

Dave Duquette, president of the nonprofit, pro-slaughter group United Horsemen, said no state or site has been picked yet but he's lined up plenty of investors who have expressed interest in financing a processing plant. While the last three slaughterhouses in the U.S. were owned by foreign companies, he said a new plant would be American-owned.

"I have personally probably five to 10 investors that I could call right now if I had a plant ready to go," said Duquette, who lives in Hermiston, Oregon. He added, "If one plant came open in two weeks, I'd have enough money to fund it. I've got people who will put up $100,000."

Sue Wallis, a Wyoming state lawmaker who's the group's vice president, said ranchers used to be able to sell horses that were too old or unfit for work to slaughterhouses but now they have to ship them to butchers in Canada and Mexico, where they fetch less than half the price.

The federal ban devastated "an entire sector of animal agriculture for purely sentimental and romantic notions," she said.

Lawmakers in California and Illinois have banned the slaughter of horses for human consumption, and more than a dozen states tightly regulate the sale of horse meat.

Federal lawmakers' lifting of the ban on funding for horse meat inspections came about in part because of the recession, which struck just as slaughtering stopped. A federal report issued in June found that local animal welfare organizations reported a spike in investigations for horse neglect and abandonment since 2007. In Colorado, for example, data showed that investigations for horse neglect and abuse increased more than 60 percent -- from 975 in 2005 to almost 1,600 in 2009.

The report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office also determined that about 138,000 horses were transported to Canada and Mexico for slaughter in 2010, nearly the same number that were killed in the U.S. before the ban took effect in 2007. The U.S. has an estimated 9 million horses.

I fuly favor lifting the ban; horsemeat is delicious and healthy (provided its chemical-free). Ranchers should be allowed to sell their stock for consumption, IMO so should the excess "US Gov't" feral mustangs... I've enjoyd horse in about 7 or 8 countries, most notably Iceland, where they serve young horsemeat as fresh steaks and the older horses are "corned" (brined).

Obama quietly signed the legislation that lifts the ban today. Looks like horse is back on the menu boys!

quote:

Originally posted by Dark Continent:
I've eaten some questionable beef in Mexico that I am sure was horse or worse.

Guess it was not horse then

I think horse meat taste better than beef.

quote:

Originally posted by tendrams:

quote:

Originally posted by namibiahunter:
Also, I think horsehide would make great leather.

Plenty of WWII aviators would agree with you as Horsehide was the original A2 jacket material.

The Current Navy G-1 is supposed to be horsehide, but it's actually a cowhide tanned to act like mule/horse hide. Different chemicals.

Gosh, I hated to hear he signed it. Now I am going to have to start buying them rather than just having them given to us. I was really getting used to all the free meat that everyone else wasn't eating for one psychological reason or another.