Not to mention the locals, who have just seen their precious crops and flocks trampled, raided and looted by not one, but two different armies. A number of works about the famous Battle of Sekigahara deal with peasants looting the battlefield, stripping dead (or badly wounded…) soldiers of their armor and weapons, just to survive. I have no doubt that horses ended as dinner and boots.
I read an anecdote a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism told. It was about a large, staged battle that SCA held, part of one of their wars or something. As the “battle” raged on, it was noticed that vultures were gathering over the field. It was speculated that violent human activity, on such a scale, triggers some instinct in the birds. As has been said, we’ve had a sort of partnership for thousands of years.
There’s a reason my D&D horses have all been named “Emergency Rations”.
I’ve heard anecdotes that at least some cuts taste very similar to beef steak, but slightly tougher.
They got beaten.
Nah, armies leave politicians at home. They have enough camp followers as it is.
I’ve been told that after the Battle of Gettysburg, many of the horses were gathered into piles and burnt. The stench was said to have put the town residents off their lunch for days.
The lone horse steak I’ve ever eaten was easily in the Top Ten of my best dinners ever.
I have some horse sausage in the refrigerator even now. It seems darker and richer than beef but less so than venison. It doesn’t seem especially gamey but then the sausage is spiced so it may be covering up that aspect.
We came across it shortly after moving here to Hungary a couple years ago. Since discovering it, we have always kept some in the house. It’s that good.