Feeding Raw Horse Meat

[stormie]

I don't have a problem with the disposal of bodies as such, particularly if the horse is PTS on its own property - but I can't stomach the terror that horses must endure on their way to an abbatoir.

I would think most horses are floated/trucked in a usual manor and wouldn't be any different to them being transported to and from properties/events etc. I just hope it's all done properly when they're killed, ie taking the previous body away etc.

[TerraNik]

Stormie have you tried goat? I have a butcher near me that sells whole goats and will cut it up into whatever size bits you want. That's what we used for Jedi's elim diet.

[Skruffy n Flea]

hello

i won't be feeding my animals horse meat --- i grew up on a farm; we had a family pony, working horses and pacers and as much as i have issues with even beef and lamb, i cannot sustain a tolerance for feeding horse meat...

horses worked with us and for us --- if cows and sheep did the same, i'd be in a difficult position...

i don't eat pork...

[OSoSwift]

No I wouldn't. Not sure I could as I looked at my two horses eating their dinner.

I do not have allergy problems that are that severe I need to resort to it. If I did then maybe my opinion would change.

Beef, chicken, lamb, goat - I can handle all those, but no not horse, not here.

[Parkeyre]

I have no issue feeding horse meat, it looks to be a pretty good meat.

[WreckitWhippet]

It doesn't worry me and I'd feed horse to the dogs but it doesn't really suit my style of feeding, as I feed all meat on the bone. The majority of horse bones are large and are therefor not suitable.

I choose to feed roo, lamb and rabbit instead.

[sheena]

I wouldn't have any issues in feeding Human grade horse meat to my dog...but I wouldn't actively go seeking it out to buy. I would be hypocritical if I said other, as I myself enjoy a bit of cabbanosi & pepperoni occasionaly along with all those other deli delights, & we all know what gives them the flavour

[cowanbree]

I have traveled behind cattle trucks with horses bound for slaughter a couple of times. They were not restrained and I was so distressed watching them that I have never forgotten it. Our local slaughter yard has been done for cruelty a couple of times and I don’t think it is a humane death for any companion animal. At least freezing works are heavily regulated, places that kill horses tend to be smaller outfits and not of the same standard. I have been raised in the horse industry and I am not against feeding horse, if I knew it was humanely killed but a lot of it isn’t.

[casowner]

Yep - I'm aware the horse meat I'm feeding isn't undergoing strict testing. But it's a choice I have to make, to help my dog. If I didn't have such an allergic dog, I wouldn't be feeding it. I would be like most normal people and feeding chicken and other 'normal' meats

You can't get camel??

Horses, Camels, Goats & Donkey ;) I hope Jake doesn't read this otherwise he may start free range feeding

My concern with horse meat would also be the drugs that have been used in them. I know a breeder that would get a horse carcass and chuck it to her Pigs and Great Danes, it was foul.

Many horses end up at the Zoo (the zoo comes out and puts them down on your property) to feed to the big cats, these are normally loved pets that are at the end of our lives, but again it is a risk to the cats if they have been getting medicated before being put down

[Lab_Rat]

We have camel here in WA but I have been warned that there is something that dogs can catch from camel meat that makes them ill which is why I stayed away from it too, I used roo and sweet potato for my elimination diet, my boy is back on regular meats though from tomorrow.

Ive been told Mas1981 that the meat can be poisoned from what the camels eat... I can only presume they are immune to 1080 bush they eat in the desert areas, but it is residual in their meat!!

Horse meat is not a new pet food product. Already 60-70,000 horses are slaughtered each year in Australia. Leftovers and injured from the racing industry I imagine...Most is exported. It has been on the pet food menu for quite a while.

I wont be feeding it to our dogs, nor will I be eating it myself. I dont have a problem with others using it. I just hope like many others, that it is done humanely, and correctly - for the sake of the horses.

Could ramble on lots more, but Ill leave it at that

Rat

[Nekhbet]

my aunt used to have about 50 odd dogs in Jugoslavia, mostly danes and newfys. She fed them an entire horse a week and had a hired hand to walk them all daily.

I wouldnt feed horse from Australia ... I used to live near a knacker and he was the filthiest, cruelest person I had ever seen. Horses were slaughtered in a tin shed and one day mum went out there to ask about rescuing a horse and there was a whole skinned clydesdale thrown in the carpark to be choppped up later THere is no quality control, if there was I would be happy to feed it.

[rubiton]

Thast disgusting nekhbet - anywhere like that should be reported to Dept of Primary Industry in the relevant state (there are regulations that they are to abide by).

Unfortunately seems like not enough people want to make the effort and have their name on record these days.

[Nekhbet]

they were investigated a couple of times from what I remember and no one did anything. As per the norm here in australia.

[Jacquiboss&scoop]

I would feed it if graded for human consumption , all our dogs eat raw human consumption only and it is frozen first with the usual rules of keeping meat followed

I know that in Australia horse meat is avoided by humans and it is sad how many nice horses end up at the doggers but we need to look at the horse trade to reduce this if the meat is available and of quality I will use it .

[SnoPaws]

I have been a horse lover, owner, breeder, shower and competitor for over 30 years.

Would I eat horse meat, no, would I feed it to my dogs, no.

Do I have a problem with others doing so, no, nor do I have a problem with slaughtering horses.

What I have a problem with is the horrific conditions that horses have to endure in market yards, on stockcrates and trucks being transported to knackeries and at the knackeries themselves. Stallions, mares, gelding and foals all crammed into trucks together, many horses are killed or seriously injured on the journey to the slaughterhouse, then they are crammed into yards at the knackeries with no water or food for up to two weeks before being slaughtered. Horses with broken legs being left for days and weeks with no treatment because what is the use when they are going to have their heads chopped off in a week or so. Foals only a few weeks old ripped away from their mothers and being yarded with 500 kilo scared angry stallions.

In excess of 50,000 horses are slaughtered in this country every year, with about half of all horses bred ending their lives therer. We have an over supply of horses in this country and I would much prefer that a horses life was to end humanely then for them to slowly starve to death in someones back paddock but it needs to be done in a humane way.

[Linda K]

would not feed it to any animals I have nor eat it, as I have ridden loved and owned horses all my life. Can also add that when we have had to have the knacker come here to PTS a horse, it is done by bullet to the head here, and then the body is removed - they are not taken away to be killed, and it is done quickly (1 shot) - they cannot be killed by injection from a vet, as that then renders the meat unable to be used for any consumption, and the knackers will not then remove the body. The only other way they will take a body is if the animal has died of natural causes. I would never eat it either.

Edited July 27, 2010 by Linda K

[bulldogz4eva]

Well I guess its horses for courses.lol.I have fed it before and I would feed it again but whilst I can get beef at the same price i will feed my dogs beef.

People just need to get over the fact that horses are pets and companions.My father was a horse trainer and I like horses but I have no problem feeding it to my dogs.

We have camel here in WA but I have been warned that there is something that dogs can catch from camel meat that makes them ill which is why I stayed away from it too, I used roo and sweet potato for my elimination diet, my boy is back on regular meats though from tomorrow.

I dont know what it is they can catch but if the animals are healthy the risk is nil.I have fed camel to mine plenty of times and it is very good meat and they like it.

would you feed dog meat same thing in my eyes

Why is it the same.You wouldnt feed dog to a dog.In Europe they have eaten horse for a long time so its not a big deal.Becuase this country was pioneered by man on horse we have a different view.Meat is meat when your hungry enough.

Many horses end up at the Zoo (the zoo comes out and puts them down on your property) to feed to the big cats, these are normally loved pets that are at the end of our lives, but again it is a risk to the cats if they have been getting medicated before being put down

Thats right and the person who has the contract in WA to supply the zoo lost it becuase some of the animals at the zoo died after eating horse that was given the green dream.

[Linda K]

QUOTE

would you feed dog meat same thing in my eyes

Why is it the same.You wouldnt feed dog to a dog.In Europe they have eaten horse for a long time so its not a big deal.Becuase this country was pioneered by man on horse we have a different view.Meat is meat when your hungry enough

sorry why is it different then with dogs - they are a companion and friend too, just like horses are. Why draw the line with one companion and not another, esp since one could argue there are many more dogs than horses.

People just need to get over the fact that horses are pets and companions.My father was a horse trainer and I like horses but I have no problem feeding it to my dogs.

don't understand how you can use the companion card with one and not the other, and if you are going that line, people have eaten dogs and cats in other countries too, as well as numerous other animal delicacies - that does not mean I am going to rush out and eat them, nor would I expect to see them being served up here either - we have the land not to have to economy farm and eat whatever is in reach unlike numerous countries overseas where land is scarce.

[Ravyk]

Yes I would feed horse meat to my dogs if I could get it.

The zoos here feed horse meat to their carnivores, and are quite open about it too. They generally mention in their feeding sessions that it is horse.

IMO feeding horse meat is VERY different to feeding dog meat. For one horses are much larger creatures, herbivores and the quality and amount of meat is a lot better than what you would get from dog meat. Horses have also been farmed for meat in other countries as a staple meat source and they are a good source of meat if you think about it. [opposed to those countries who raise dogs as delicacies] In India cows are considered sacred and are not eaten. Carnivore meat from what I have heard isn't as good food as herbivore meat but I will happily be corrected on that.

Yes horses can be companions and are intelligent, beautiful creatures with different personalities. But guess what? So are cows or sheep and to an extent even chickens. The majority of people never have the chance to know a sheep or a cow as a companion, and hence have no objections eating or feeding their meat.

[Nekhbet]

sorry why is it different then with dogs - they are a companion and friend too, just like horses are. Why draw the line with one companion and not another, esp since one could argue there are many more dogs than horses.

because a horse is a prey animal just like a cow, sheep, pig, chicken, duck, gazelle, deer, gnu, zebra, donkey, goat etc. It is a herbivore that is naturally prey to carniverous animals, which accounts for their innate behaviours which we train against in order to make them a calm, rideable animal. Why do you think unbroken or wild horses act like nuts when you come up behind them or try to mount them.

The only issue is that it is viewed as a 'pet' not a prey animal. It is totally different to a dog which builds little muscle compared to feed input and preys off other 'prey' species in order to survive.

eta carnivore meat is edible but usually stinks due to hormones and diet. We like herbiverous animals because the diet carries through to the meat. Most carniverous carcasses reek.

Edited July 27, 2010 by Nekhbet