Are HORSES really an ingredient in dog food?

Question

What other ingredients are there in dog food?

Answer 1

No.
They use the throw away parts from cows, chickens, pigs etc. But not horses.

Answer 2

First Ten Ingredients
Water
Chicken
Meat by-products
Beef
Modified food starch
Salt
Natural Flavour
Guar gum
Sodium tripolyphosphate
Caramel

Remaining Ingredients
Calcium carbonate, potassium chloride, tricalcium phosphate, choline chloride, vitamins, minerals

source: Answers.com about Alpo Beef Entree

This has some information about the use of horses in Dog Food---> http://www.petplace.com/horses/fight-over-fate-of-wild-horses-in-u-s/page1.aspx

This was an interested article too: http://www.users.qwest.net/~carrielc/dogfoods.html

Animal Byproduct could be anything, Horse, Dog, Cat, Cow, Pig, heck it could be goat for all you know.

Answer 3

Yes, they are, It is very sad but true. Horses are also an ingredient in glue as well. I know this because we saved a horse that was about to head off to the glue (and dog food) factory when we decided to try her. She was being sent off because she wouldn't stop biting the little kids at the school barn she was being used at. After we gained her trust, she turned out to be the best horse I have ever had. But to answer your question, yes horses are an ingredient in dog food. Dieing, mean, or "worthless" horses are sent there when their owners are simply done with them. Meat buyers also go to horse auctions to buy the cheap horses for meat. It's awful.

Answer 4

At one time, yes they were! I actually saw a can of Alpo on the shelves at a store once that said Horse on the front of the label. But most dog food these days comes from chicken, beef and/or lamb. The ingredients depend on the food. Since it's been discovered that many pets suffer from allergies, they have changed the formulas of the premium foods to make them more beneficial to the animals. My german shepherd is allergic to corn, so I feed her a food without corn in it.. otherwise she gets all itchy and has flaky skin. Horse meat is mostly exported to other countries now, alot of which is consumed by humans!! If you're concerned about your doggie's diet, check the label. A good food will have no mention of by-products. However, most by-products will specify whether it's beef or chicken. I'd be cautious of "animal by-products" as that could be anything... literally. But I doubt you'll find horse in very many of today's commercial dog foods.

Answer 5

There are reports of low-quality dog foods (Alpo, Purina, etc.) using questionable ingredients in their dog food. This includes horses, road kill, euthanized pet animals, and animals removed from human food sources due to illness, cancer, or contamination.

http://www.api4animals.org/facts.php?p=359&more=1

Here's an article discussing some of the other horrible ingredients in some dog foods. Your best bet is to go with a high quality natural dog food like Innova Evo, Wellness, or Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul, and avoid anything from Petsmart or the supermarket.

Answer 6

Most horses that are slaughtered here in the US are expored to Europe for human food not for dog food.
The price of horse meat is high and more that what dog food companies want to pay and it turns people off if they use horse meat to produce dog food.
Most horse meat is exported for human consumption or sold to zoos for the wild animals.

Answer 7

Yes, sadly, horses are in many dog foods. That is part of the "meat-by-product" category. Of course manufacturers do not want you to know. I found out recently that this is true. We lost an elderly gentleman. We looked into having someone come pick him up, but the mistake was made when the true destination was revealed. Needless to say, he is buried in the pasture.

Answer 8

depends what sort of dog food you buy. usually the biggest brand names have the most reliable non-illegal ingredients. i am almost 100% positive horses are not allowed to be consumed or slaughtered. they are protected as dogs and cats are in this country.

poor pigs, poultry, and cows though.

Answer 9

No, They use to use horses for glue, but about 6 months ago they passed a law .No more.But mind you these were lame old, on there death bed horses

Answer 10

Horses are expensive...no pet food company is going to spend that kind of money...they use leftover parts of other animals.

Answer 11

Horse meat is fed to some animals, People eat it as well (common in Quebec)