# Horses and Glue

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horses-and-glue/7979>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 2, 2000, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horses-and-glue/7979 "2000-03-02T00:29:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jeturgeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@jeturgeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeturgeon)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horses-and-glue/7979/1 "2000-03-02T00:29:00Z")

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What’s the deal with the joke about horses “on the way to the glue factory?” Does some glue come from horses? Which part of the horse? I thought I heard it had something to do with mucagel (I think that’s what it was) in the horses bones or something. What truth is there behind this?

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**Author:** ![Trout\_Mask\_Replica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a88e57/32.png) [@Trout\_Mask\_Replica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trout_Mask_Replica)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horses-and-glue/7979/2 "2000-03-02T00:38:00Z")

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Glue was once made from the bones or hides of horses and other animals. Check out [this page](http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/don/dt/dt1560.html) for some info on the composition of glue and its manufacture.

–  
TMR

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**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horses-and-glue/7979/3 "2000-03-02T00:40:00Z")

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I think glue is the name for the products (prior to synthetic adhesives) that people used to stick stuff together, and that glue was made from animal hides and bones, or even fish, milk products or vegetables. mucilage is another word for glue I think.

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horses-and-glue/7979/4 "2000-03-02T13:56:00Z")

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mucilage 1: a gelatinous substance esp. from seaweeds that contains protein and polysaccharides and is similar to plant gums 2: an aqueous usu. viscid solution (as of gum) used esp. as an adhesive

Yes, glue was (is?) made from animal byproducts; hooves, I think. Bone china was made using bones, too.

Jell-O brand gelatine uses hooves (or another animal byproduct) in their product. I learned this from vegetarian friends who ensure that the gelatine they buy is animal-free.

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**Author:** ![frolix8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f04885/32.png) [@frolix8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frolix8)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2000, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horses-and-glue/7979/5 "2000-03-02T14:04:00Z")

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Hide glue is still made and still used. Hides, hooves, and bones are a by-product of the slaughterhouses, nobody is killing animals specifically to make glue or gelatin.