Can I eat my horse?

Question

My six year old Mare broke her legs and needed to be put down so I hung her in my back garden (about 100ft x 100ft) and have started to butcher her so we can eat the meat. My neighbour is not happy and says what I'm doing is illegal. I don't know why, it can't be because of the smell because as it's so cold she hardly smells at all yet. can anyone help?

I loved my horse and I care about the environment. There is a lot of edible meat on a horse and to eat it is an economically and environmentally sound thing to do. I didn't expect any americans to understand this has they have no regard for our planet but I had hoped some of the more civilised nations would understand my plight.

Answer 1

god what a bunch of hipocrites there are on here.. all moaning about eating a pet.. bet there isn't any moaning when they eat their sunday roast..
my in-laws keep alsorts of animals, pigs, chickens and rabbits solely for the purpose of eating them.. you tuck in mate and enjoy. never tried horse meat before.. i hope the recipies help.. apparently you can use horse meat where you would use beef



Picula ad Caval

This traditional Italian recipe will serve 6

21/4 pounds ground horse meat
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2-1/2 ounces ground cured lard (or pancetta)
2 onions, minced
1 glass dry white wine (though some Italian chefs prefer broth)
6 ripe tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded, chopped, and drained
2 bell peppers, ribbed and seeded, then diced
2 Tbsp. minced fresh herbs (basil, sage, and rosemary in proportions to taste)
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat the oil, lard, and onion in a skillet. Sauté until the onion has become golden but don’t let it get really brown. Add the horse meat and brown it, stirring frequently. When it has browned, sprinkle in the glass of wine and reduce the heat to a bare simmer. Cover it, and let it cook for at least an hour. Mix in the chopped tomatoes and diced peppers, and continue cooking for another half hour.

Ten minutes before removing the dish from the stove, sprinkle the minced herbs over everything. Serve it hot with salt and pepper to taste.

Pastissada

Another traditional Italian recipe from the Verona area.

2 pounds horse meat
2 ounces lard or porkback fat
2-3 carrots, cut into slivers
2 sticks celery, diced
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves
a dozen coriander seeds
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic
1 bottle Italian red wine
flour, enough to brown the meat with
1/4 cup olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
1 Tbsp. butter kneaded into enough flour to make a small ball
paprika to taste

Slather the meat with the lard and slivers of carrots. Dice the other vegetables and put them, with the meat and spices (except the paprika) in a bowl. Pour the wine over everything, then cover and marinate in the refrigerator for three days, turning the meat occasionally.

Pat the meat dry with paper towel (keep the vegetables and the marinade), flour it, and brown it in the oil over a brisk flame. Add the vegetables. When they’ve cooked for a few minutes, pour the marinade over the meat. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about three hours. Once the meat is done, remove it to a platter saving the sauce that has been formed with the marinade.

Return the sauce to the fire, thicken it with the butter-flour ball, and season it to taste with paprika. Pour the sauce over the meat, and serve with a good traditional side dish.

Filet Mignon

This simple French classic serves 4.

4 four-ounce filets of horse
4 slices bacon
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare exactly as for a filet mignon. Wrap outside of filet with uncooked bacon slice and secure with toothpicks. Broil to taste.

Sauerbraten (Sour Roast)

Practically a German sacrament

2-1/2 lbs. horse meat roast
4 strips bacon (optional)
soup vegetables: carrot, celery, leek (optional), parsley root (optional), onion (optional)
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 pint red wine (optional)
1 garlic clove
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp. juniper berries
3 allspice corns and/or cloves
3 peppercorns
1 thyme branch
1/4 cup pork lard
1 Tbsp. flour (optional)
1/2 cup raisins
salt
pepper
maple syrup (to taste)

Vigorously rub the roast with the bacon. Clean and wash the vegetables and cut them into pieces. Bring the vinegar to boil with some water or stock, then let it cool down a bit and add the meat, garlic, spices, and the vegetables. Let it marinade in a closed bowl for several days (but at least 24 hours) in a cool place.

Remove the horse meat from the marinade and roast it in the lard. Then slowly add the marinade, together with the vegetables and the spices. Braise it in the oven for 2 to 21/2 hours at 350 degrees. Remove the bay leaves, the cloves and the juniper berries from the gravy. Strain the gravy, and perhaps thicken it with some flour. Add the raisins and season it with salt, pepper, and maple syrup. Serves 4.

Answer 2

I don't think it's illegal, then again, I don't know where you live and laws have a funny thing about changing from place to place you know. d=

But yes, since you hung her, I see no problems with eating the meat. The reason so many people are freaking out about it would have to be culture I guess. The french eat horse meat, so I'm sure it's perfectly safe, lol.

If you can eat a cow or pig, you should know it's no different then eating a horse or cat or even dog. So maybe you might need to check with your local laws or whatever you can find to see if it really is illegal. I know around here it is illegal to butcher your own meat in the open. Some guy go busted for doing so to a goat in his yard. Like I said, it all depends on where you live.

PS: Why don't people understand he's not from the US? Or that the horse is already dead? The real savage thing to do would have been to leave the poor thing to suffer with her broken legs. As far as I'm conserned, you did the right thing. Plus eating the meat is the best thing to do. Like I said, if you eat meat, you should have no problems eating a cat or dog. Stop being close minded, cause that's the most uncivilized thing to be.

Answer 3

You may as well get the benefit of the meat because if you don't eat it something else will.

If you bury it, something even earthworms will eat the meat.

If the mare is hauled off to be "rendered" something will eat it: cats, dogs, chickens, cattle etc., etc.

If you had sold her in a condition where she could not be riden the chances are she would end up on a European dinner table.

What you have done is practical. The well-loved mare is dead and won't care. What is much much worse is the horrors that horses go through at one of the slaughter houses where so many of them end up.

Answer 4

What you are doing is NOT illegal. Like someone else mentioned, if you intend to sell the meat, then you can be held on criminal and/or civil charges (in the U.S. at least).

Now, I wouldn't recommend eating your horse's meat.
Was your horse regularly wormed?

Did you feed your horse suppliments?

Did your horse receive pain medication before she was "put down", even topical treatments, such as Vetroline liniment?

Was she put down through euthanization (with drugs)?

If you answered "Yes" to any of those questions, then the meat of your former horse is NOT safe for human consumption and it may even be deadly to you and your family. Be careful.

Answer 5

How could you ever think of eating your horse after it died. You are horrible-- it's not illegal but anyone who does something like that is morally unstable. Honestly, i could NEVER eat my dead pet that i loved..... You need to bury that horse and give her some respect. and im NOT surprised your neighbour isnt happy-- take the damn thing to a real butcher house.... god.

Answer 6

Hiya :)

well you could eat your horse but you must check for any disease. No it is not illegal unless you intentionally killed it for meat as this would be cruelty to animals. I have never tried horse meat but there are many recipies. It only like eating your pet chicken when its died. Feel free to eat it and just take the horse down and store it in a mini cooler. They only cost around $20!

Good Look :)

Answer 7

You might want to curtain her off with tarps so your neighbor doesn't have to see it. That's probably what most of his problem is.
And by the way, there's lots of "civilized" Americans who can do the math that there's a lot of meat on a horse. They just don't happen to be high-schoolers (that's who uses Yahoo Answers).

Answer 8

it is not illegal to butcher and eat your own horse as long as it is for your own consumtion, you cannot sell it as this takes you into all sorts of health and safety stuff, however if it was euthanised by a vet the meat may not be safe to eat, if however it was shot then you may just wish to be a little more tactful when hanging it and butchering it, not everybody thinks the same way. Maybe put it somewhere a bit more private a garage/shed whatever and be a bit considerate when disposing of anything you don't use(bones etc) a local hunt kennels might take this off your hands as you cannot dispose of it your bin. I've encountered similiar reactions when butchering deer and it requires alittle tact from you to keep the peace. bon appetit

Answer 9

It is ILLEGAL to slaughter a horse for human comsumption in the USA. Have yo not seen the news about the horse slaughter plants closing? What you are doing is the same thing.

Answer 10

How strange that so many people don't bother to read your question before assuming that you killed the horse yourself. If you want to eat it go ahead, its better than wasting the meat. Your neighbour may be one of those people who thinks that meat comes from supermarkets.

Answer 11

the only crime would be to not BBQ the meat , and on the grilled steaks it is the law to use A-1 hickory smoke flavor
steak sauce
Bon-appitite me amigo , and remember BBQ is best served with a cold beer , in a chilled glass or right out of the chilled can which ever is your personal choice ..
Someone above already claimed the leg so I will have a thigh.... medium well ....... ha ha ha