# Horse SlaughterHouses: I thought these were banned a long time ago.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-slaughterhouses-i-thought-these-were-banned-a-long-time-ago/245926>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [May 19, 2004, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-slaughterhouses-i-thought-these-were-banned-a-long-time-ago/245926 "2004-05-19T05:55:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-slaughterhouses-i-thought-these-were-banned-a-long-time-ago/245926/21 "2004-05-20T22:55:25Z")

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When I was about 11, I was given horsemeat for dinner by a neighbor. I couldn’t tell the difference from cow.  
With the Mad Cow scare lurking, it could be a safer alternative.

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**Author:** ![ZaLucky1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/4af34b/32.png) [@ZaLucky1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZaLucky1)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-slaughterhouses-i-thought-these-were-banned-a-long-time-ago/245926/22 "2004-05-20T23:49:09Z")

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I have not tried it but I have heard that horse meat is actually a bit sweeter than your regular beef. I would be willing to try it.

I have grown up with horses … and seen my mother’s horse go to slaughter. The mare had physical issues as well as many mental instabilities. She was unsafe. We could not sell her to a stable, nor as a companion for another horse out to pasture. She was a danger to everyone around.

When I was in college my horse died of congestive heart failure, so we have had our share of putting down some of our own horses and bury them in the back yard (we have a large back yeard and no pet cemeteries!)

I believe that if a horse is unstable and dangerous to survive in captivity then something needs to be done. Since we cannot let them go and allow Darwinism to weed out those which should not live, we have slaughter houses. However, I do not agree to sending all horses there. Just because someone doesn’t want a horse is no reason to send it straight to slaughter … go through an auction or a stable first.

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**Author:** ![Mauvaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mauvaise/32/11084_2.png) [@Mauvaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mauvaise)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horse-slaughterhouses-i-thought-these-were-banned-a-long-time-ago/245926/23 "2004-05-21T02:55:49Z")

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> [@lachesis](#):
>
> … are there still people who haven’t figured out what goes into dog food, and how it gets there?

I always thought that some… non-standard stuff went into dog and cat food. I assumed horse and the parts of cows that they wouldn’t even consider putting in hot dogs, but it’s so much [worse](http://www.dogbreederonline.com/nutrition.htm) than that.

> [@](#):
>
> Road kill, slaughter house rejects, animals that die on their way to meat packing plants - all are acceptable ingredients for pet food under the “4D” rule - diseased, disabled, dead and dying. Steroids, growth hormones and chemicals used to treat cattle for infestations - including insecticide patches - again end up mixed into the final product. Meat from grocery stores past its final due date is also added to the mix, as are the Styrofoam trays and plastic wrap they were packed in.

:eek: :eek: :eek:

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