# Have You Ever Eaten Horse? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 30, 2009, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-horse/515745 "2009-10-30T17:13:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-horse/515745/41 "2009-10-31T15:25:51Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > You don’t know what you’re talking about. > > Horses are given wormers only 3 or 4 times per year, not on a daily basis. And wound cream or pain medication is given only when they are wounded, which certainly ought to be even less frequent than that. If your horse gets wounded or is in pain more often than that, something is very wrong about the way you are taking care of your horse! > > And do you think cattle or pigs don’t get wormed, or treated with wound medications and pain relievers when they get hurt? What, do you think they are just left to suffer if they get hurt? You’ve been listening to way too many PETA commercials, fella. I can see by your vast equine knowledge you’ve never heard of [daily wormer](http://www.smartpakequine.com/ProductCompare.aspx?catid=9) (“do not use in horses intended for food”). Not all horses are on this program but it does exist and is not at all uncommon. You’ve also never heard of [feed-through fly control](http://www.smartpakequine.com/productclass.aspx?productClassid=2587#fulldescription) (“Do not use on horses intended for food”). There are daily-fed antinflammatories like [MSM](http://www.smartpakequine.com/productclass.aspx?productClassid=4588#fulldescription) (“do not use on horses intended for food”). [Muscle-building products](http://www.smartpakequine.com/ProductClass.aspx?productclassid=1554&cmPreserveSource=true&cmPreserveCategory=true#fulldescription). (“Do not use on horses intended for food”). There are literally hundreds of products in daily use so labeled. For the record, and I PRO-slaughter, and again, I would have no problem eating horse raised for consumption, as is the case in many countries where eating horsemeat is common. ---
**Author:** ![legalsnugs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@legalsnugs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/legalsnugs)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-horse/515745/42 "2009-10-31T17:55:02Z")
Here we have ló kolbász (horse sausage). It’s spicy and has pork mixed in with it and we LOVE it. It is so wonderful in bean soups or stews or anything you’d use sausage in. We eat it as often as we can, although those types of meals are better in winter. Yummmmm. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-horse/515745/43 "2009-10-31T19:08:24Z")
BTW, if you think I am so crazy, why has the EU instituted a new Horse-identification regime that makes horses that receive certain medications (including “Bute” (phenylbutazone) the most common NSAID used on horses) ineligible for food production? [http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2009/090612d.htm](http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2009/090612d.htm) _Horse passports will clearly identify those horses which are not eligible for the food chain if they have been treated with substances which are potentially harmful to humans. … If the passport is not available or the vet does not know whether or not the horse is eligible for entry into the food chain, the vet should not administer drugs not authorised for food producing animals e.g. phenylbutazone (“bute”) and must use an alternative product._ ---
**Author:** ![horsetech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dec6dc/32.png) [@horsetech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horsetech)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-horse/515745/44 "2009-10-31T21:34:51Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > You don’t know what you’re talking about. > > Horses are given wormers only 3 or 4 times per year, not on a daily basis. And wound cream or pain medication is given only when they are wounded, which certainly ought to be even less frequent than that. If your horse gets wounded or is in pain more often than that, something is very wrong about the way you are taking care of your horse! > > And do you think cattle or pigs don’t get wormed, or treated with wound medications and pain relievers when they get hurt? What, do you think they are just left to suffer if they get hurt? You’ve been listening to way too many PETA commercials, fella. Hello Again covered the main points, but the FDA regulates which drugs are allowed to be used in food animals and minimum “wash-out” periods for allowed drugs. Cattle and pigs do get treated with drugs, but not with the broad range of drugs used in horses. Also, the horses who have chronic lameness problems (i.e., are more likely to be on bute a lot) are the ones more likely to get “sent down the road” and end up at slaughterhouses. Here are a few drugs that are not allowed to be used in animals destined to become food under U.S. rules, ever (my comments in italics): Chloramphenicol - _relatively commonly used antibiotic for serious infections in foals and adult horses_ Nitroimidazoles (including metronidazole) - _metronidazole is an antibiotic commonly used for diarrhea and to cover anaerobes as part of broad-spectrum treatment_ Nitrofurans (including topical use) - _this includes nitrofurazone (aka Furacin, Furazone), an exceedingly common preparation used to treat wounds or “sweat” a leg_ [http://www.farad.org/prohibit.html](http://www.farad.org/prohibit.html) I am pro-horse slaughter and would prefer to see horses slaughtered humanely in the U.S. than abandoned, neglected and ill-cared-for, or shipped for hours and hours to slaughterhouses in Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-horse/515745/45 "2009-11-01T00:49:08Z")
> [@horsetech](#): > > I am pro-horse slaughter and would prefer to see horses slaughtered humanely in the U.S. than abandoned, neglected and ill-cared-for, or shipped for hours and hours to slaughterhouses in Mexico. So are most people who actually work with and care for horses. It’s the urban PETA type, who have no actual experience with horses, who are so opposed. People who work with them know that the time eventually comes where age & infirmity bring horses to the end of their life, and it is our responsibility to see that they have a humane end. See [here](http://www.mnhorsecouncil.org/minnesota-horse-council-position-on-unwanted-horses.php) for our position on this from the Mn Horse Council. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-horse/515745/46 "2009-11-01T13:41:29Z")
Knowingly, I have had it twice. The first time was when my wife picked out the best looking package from a cabinet in the market containing ostrich and, when she got hom, it turned out to be horse. The second time was when I gave a talk at the university of Kumamoto on the island of Kyushu. Afterwards I was to be taken for dinner. The host asked what kind of food I preferred. Not giving it any thought, I said I would be happy to try whatever the regional specialty was. The host said, “Fine” and made a reservation. As we were walking over, he mentioned that the regional specialty was raw horsemeat. Well, I kind of gulped, but I love steak tartare, so why cavil at that. As far as I could tell, it could have been raw beef, probably leaner. We were also served raw fugu. I was a bit more apprehensive, but it turns out that the famous fugu restaurants add a measured (they hope) amount of poison to the fish, while this restaurant, not a licensed fugu restaurant, didn’t. It was pretty tasteless as sushi goes. The reason I said “knowingly” is that there were persistent rumors that the steak sandwich house I used to frequent when I was younger was using horsemeat. I have no idea if that was true, but their steak sandwiches were delicious. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-horse/515745/47 "2009-11-01T14:48:42Z")
Yeah, I’ve had the smoked sliced lunchmeat version alluded to by **Superfluous Parentheses** upthread. Tasted really good, and I’d try it again in other forms if I happened across it. > [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > it turns out that the famous fugu restaurants add a measured (they hope) amount of poison to the fish :eek: They _do_ that?! I must find such a place immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Teacake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Teacake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teacake)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-horse/515745/48 "2009-11-01T15:23:45Z")
The first time I ever had horse (knowingly, I’m sure I probably had plenty as a child in Europe), it was foal. Very, very tender and delicious. Since then I buy horse whenever I can, but they don’t sell it much in London, so it tends to have to wait until I have a free weekend to run over to France. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-horse/515745/49 "2009-11-01T17:33:30Z")
The pro of eating horse meat is that the animal usually had a really good life. The con is that they often get badly treated at the end of their life, but then again, a pig or chickens _entire life_ sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-horse/515745/50 "2009-11-01T23:05:23Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > The reason I said “knowingly” is that there were persistent rumors that the steak sandwich house I used to frequent when I was younger was using horsemeat. I have no idea if that was true, but their steak sandwiches were delicious. Unlikely, if it’s in North America. Because horsemeat is more expensive than beef, generally. (That’s the same reason that McDonalds does NOT use worm meat in their burgers (despite many Internet emails saying so) – worms cost more than ground beef. And McDonalds is very, very good at calculating costs.) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-horse/515745/51 "2009-11-01T23:18:05Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > but then again, a pig or chickens _entire life_ sucks. How so? Our neighbors pigs get out of their pen occasionally (mainly piglets squeezing through the fence), run across our north hayfield, and down into our yard. The mares ignore them, but they terrify our stallions (the mare pastures are in back, over the fence from the neighbors’ pig pastures; the stallions paddocks are out in front, so they’ve never seen piglets before). But these pigs seem quite happy with their lives. And they aren’t afraid of people, they readily come up to them. My mother age 85+ has had no trouble catching these pigs and holding them for the neighbor. They don’t seem to have too bad a life. True, they’ll end up as pork chops or roasts or sausage, but they don’t know that. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-horse/515745/52 "2009-11-02T01:45:44Z")
I never have, but I’d like to- I like my beef steaks very lean, and I’ve heard that horse is much like beef, but leaner. I’d try it if it ever came up and wasn’t especially expensive. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-horse/515745/53 "2009-11-02T02:05:20Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > Twice in Japan. I assume it was raw? That’s how I like it, too. Come to think of it, I haven’t had the opportunity to try it cooked. Maybe the poll should be amended to include raw horse eaters 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-horse/515745/54 "2009-11-02T02:50:34Z")
Not horse, but accidentally ate some “Esel Salami” while vacatioing in Germany back in the 90’s. “Esel” is the German word for “Mule”. I didn’t make myself throw it up, but I quit eating it when I was told what it was. The _why_ of it is that I love horses. I love all domesticated animals, and before I learned to ride on a horse, I learned to ride on an old grey mule we called “Mr. Ed”. My Dad used him for plowing. I rode Ed sitting on a real cavalry saddle with a split down it’s middle and he cantered, racked, trotted just a horse. Yeah, we were laughed at on Stockmar Road in Villa Rica, but I loved that ol’ boy. Given the fact that the horse (if it is domesticated) transports us, means we have bodily contact and a common trust, so a “bond” is formed. A “friendship” if you will. So no, even if the horse were wild, if I were an intelligent human and had a choice, I wouldn’t eat him/her. If I were in Dire Straits, maybe, but I sure would explore other sources first. Does that make me a **Hippo** (Greek for horse, and I KNOW it’s misppelled = poetic license)crite (I do eat chicken and fish)? No, I would not eat horse flesh unless I was _very_ primitive. Quasi ---
**Author:** ![Walkabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walkabout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walkabout)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-horse/515745/55 "2009-11-02T18:32:15Z")
I almost ordered the foal from the menu when I was in a restaurant in Slovenia, and now I really regret not trying it. I’d certainly do it if I had another opportunity. I was horse crazy when I was young and took riding lessons for several years. I still think they’re beautiful creatures, but it wouldn’t prevent me from eating one (properly prepared), given chance. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-horse/515745/56 "2009-11-02T19:28:20Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > I’m not totally sure. When I was in Japan and we were out for sushi one night the guys told me that one of the dishes was raw horse. I assumed it was actually raw beef and they were just telling me it was horse to see how I would react. They were fond of giving me stuff and then watching my reaction when I ate it. I think it is a common game that they play with the new foreigners. Was it really horse? Maybe. Whether it was raw horse or raw beef my problem with it was the texture and not the taste. It felt weird in my mouth. Enough wasabi and could get anything down. It was probably horse, basashi (horse sashimi dipped in soy sauce, usually has onions I think) isn’t exactly uncommon there. I’m not aware of raw beef being served often in Japan, I know it is in Korea though. Granted I’m not exactly an expert on Eastern cuisine. Anyway, to answer the thread I’ve never eaten horse meat, but I’d like to try it. _Attempts to make joke about ordering ikizukuri basashi_ ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-horse/515745/57 "2009-11-02T19:44:23Z")
My husband’s grandmother owns a restaurant in Switzerland. It’s a fairly ordinary place, with a blue collar clientele. When I was there this summer one entre was horse meat, so I tried it. It tasted exactly like beef, and if they hadn’t told me it was horse, I would never have known. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-horse/515745/58 "2009-11-02T20:08:36Z")
I’ve had the opportunity to eat horse meat but never did. It didn’t repulse me, but there were other more appealing options available. Now that it’s illegal in my state, I’m perversely interested in tasting it. ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-horse/515745/59 "2009-11-03T04:41:22Z")
I voted for the second option but… Well, look, I’ll try anything once, so in the spirit of “I’d never in a million years turn up my nose at something that I know won’t kill me” of course I’d try it given the chance. Fortunately I live in the US and am poor and won’t have the chance to visit Central Europe anytime soon. This means I will not have the opportunity to actually test my “any food goes” theory any time soon, because when push comes to shove I’m not absolutely positive I’d turn down a good pork sausage in favor of a steak cut off of my favorite animal. ---
**Author:** ![Karen\_Lingel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karen_lingel/32/18649_2.png) [@Karen\_Lingel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_Lingel)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-horse/515745/60 "2009-11-04T22:00:32Z")
I was tricked! I was in Moscow at a Uzbek restaurant, and was tricked into eating the speciality: Uzbek sausage. It was horse. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-horse/515745.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-eaten-horse/515745.md?page=4)