OT Horse Slaughter

[Anonymous-0]

I know this is off topic but thought I would ask on here as alot of you seem to be ranchers or work around horses. I got a letter in the mail the other day asking for money. It was from the Gentle Giants Draft Horse Rescue. Paper said horses are shipped to Canada and Mexico for slaughter and their meat brings a high price. In Mexico they stab the horse in the back in a pen until it goes down. Who the heck eats horse meat? Has anyone ever heard of this organization? I was thinking of sending them a donation.
Thanks Bob

 

[old]

Eating of horse meat is very common over seas and is lesser developed country's. And yes some of these places are on the up and up but many are also just scams be sure yu check them out before you throw maney at them

 

[36 Coupe]

Keep your money.

 

[Dr. Bert]

Bob: Animals are not humans-can't save 'em all. Personally, I wouldn't send a cent.

 

[CJ in Michigan]

The U.S. used to have a few horse abbatoirs around, but the feds shut them down. Now horses are crammed into cattle cars and are transported for days on end in terrible conditions to get slaughtered. The French use a lot of horsemeat and some butcher shops specialize in horsemeat only. In Belgium the famous pomme frites are fried in horse fat. A lot of nice horses here in Michigan are suffering because the owners simply can't afford to feed them anymore. These often get sold for slaughter.

 

[36 Coupe]

Many horses are turned loose to starve because of the FEDS stupid decision.Most old horses go into pet food.Far better than roaming free, not even being able to graze when their teeth are worn out.

 

[Dunk]

Talk about a hind quarter for the grill!!!

 

[oldtanker]

(quoted from post at 10:09:01 02/13/11) I know this is off topic but thought I would ask on here as alot of you seem to be ranchers or work around horses. I got a letter in the mail the other day asking for money. It was from the Gentle Giants Draft Horse Rescue. Paper said horses are shipped to Canada and Mexico for slaughter and their meat brings a high price. In Mexico they stab the horse in the back in a pen until it goes down. Who the heck eats horse meat? Has anyone ever heard of this organization? I was thinking of sending them a donation.
Thanks Bob

OK there were a lot of farmers/ranchers who raised horses for the meat market. Now the feds have banned shipping horses to the meat markets and closed down the processing plants in the US. Most of the horse meat grown here and shipped overseas went to France. Lot of plants in Canada stopped taking horses so that has created a problem close to the border as to what to do with all these grade animals raised for butcher. On the Mex border they are buying the horses and the Mexician buyers are telling anyone who will listen that they are for breeding or pleasure riding.

1. Horses have ben and will be raised for meat.

2. Stopping it in the US has caused the loss of jobs from the farmer/rancher throught the butchers, longshoremen, truckers....ect.

3. The problem now is that with no US meat market for them these guys that got stuck with thousands of horses have no choice but to turn them loose.

4. The city person who has been boarding a horse and can no longer afford it has no market to get rid of them. Many are being turned loose, given away or abandoned.

These rescue places for the most part are a pir off!

Rick

 

[Ultradog MN]

[i:654c4848f0] Most of the horse meat grown here and shipped overseas went to France[/i:654c4848f0]

LOL
During the French invasion of Russia in 1812 General Kutuzov swore that he would make Napoleon and his army eat their own horses to stay alive.
And the French army pretty much had to as they left Moscow in disarray.
They must have found they liked horse meat if they were still buying it lately.

 

[lha]

I used to go to horse auctions,looking for saddles to sell customers on my horseshoeing circuit.There were many good horses that were sold for slaughter,as the meat prices were higher than the pleasure market would bear given that the horses were on pasture for who knows how long.One of the best mares I've ever had,I saved from the slaughter.When I got her home,and was checking her out,she had a tatoo on her upper lip,signifying that she'd been on the track.I had her until she died at +-30yrs.---lha

 

[alg]

I have adopted 4 drafts from a rescue in PA.They are a non profit organization and are tax excempt. Every year i write off all of the monies i have spent on thier care on my federal income taxes. Before you adopt go and check the place out.

 

[showcrop]

Every other week it's in the news about someone getting their horses taken away because they aren't feeding them. They can't sell them or even give them away because of the law banning use for dog food so the horses now starve to death.

 

[Fuddy Duddy]

There use to be a place around the corner that slathered old horses for dog food. I haul a lots of packaged meat from the big packing companies. Chickens, Pig, Beef and such. Its somewhat sad seeing them go in alive on one end and loaded on my truck on the other end. I don't see where there is much difference in the horses or other animals. You could make a pet out of any of them. Some places they eat dog or monkey. That's just the way it is. It's just each to there on. In Missouri I know of at lest one place that raises horses to milk them. The milk is consider a health food. And that is consumed here in the USA.
Do what you want to. But I wouldn't send them any money. If you do send money I don't think it will save one horse.

 

[Nate8N]

When I am not tinkering with my 8N in the barn I am a Network/Internet Security Analyst and I have been working with computers and networks for well over 20 years.

Upon checking them out they seem to be legit. They are a registered 501c with the state if Maryland and in good standing.

HOWEVER, I would [b:af03122de5][i:af03122de5]never[/i:af03122de5][/b:af03122de5] send money to an organisation that I did not initiate contact with first.

When looking at thier website ( http://www.gentlegiantsdrafthorserescue.com ) I notced they have a "wishlist."

On the wishlist are some items that they are in need of including flat back buckets, lead ropes, turnout sheets, and blankets.

If you choose to support them then my advice is to send them what they need from thier wishlist and not send money if you unsure wheather you are getting ripped off - because your gut feeling is usually right.

 

[MR in MN]

Interesting. Last weekend while ice fishing, I had a conversation with a fellow who told me about a 12 year old horse he and his neighbor butchered, neighbor gave him a hind quarter for his help, said he got 90 lbs of meat off of it, tried some, said it was surprisingly tender, very lean meat, made the rest into sausage, told me this while I was eating some of his bear sausage. It was a good time, had the gas grill on the ice, brats, venison loin, cheese curds wrapped in foil from the grill, they were good, and beer. 15 years ago I was deer hunting in central Wyoming, Jeffery City area, when we first got there we saw herds of 20, 30, 40 horses at a time. Wow, look at that, wild horses! As we started hunting, we kept coming across horse skeletons, most were within 500 yards of the road, at first we thought it was wrong,target shooting like that, but by the end of the week we were like "Kill em' all!" We saw 10 horses for each deer, where the horses could access, the brush and grass was mowed down to your ankles, massive overgrazing, (if you're wondering, no cows anywhere) on the steep hill sides where the horses didn't go, also where we found the deer, brush was waist/chest high. The feds do round-ups, about as effective as tinkling on a wild fire.

 

[oldtanker]

It's not against the lw to butcher your own horse for meat even now. Son's future in laws did one last year after have a colt born with deformed front legs. Vet said it may grown out of it and they raised it for a year and a half trying to save it. These people (really good folks) don't waste anything so when it was decided that the humane thing to do was put it down they put it in the freezer. Each to his own!

Rick

 

[gahorN]

Horses are not any different than other cattle in many countries. There's nothing wrong with those folks eating them, if that's their preference, IMO.
If you want to do something for horses...lobby against anti-slaughter laws.
If the do-gooders would also get as equally motivated to pass a law prohibiting turning horses out to starve, they'd do horses a lot more good. My neighbor, after 25-30 years of use of his horses....let them die a long, painful death of starvation when their teeth gave out. They couldn't graze. He wouldn't feed them....and He wouldn't put them down. I ended up dragging their carcasses off and burying them when they came up to near my property desperately looking for food, where they died.
My wife had a pet lamb named "Lambsey-Divey" which she doubtless and innocently was fed at some time during her childhood. What's the difference?

 

[JB in Co]

There are a lot of comments on this suject, if you go to the site: Straight From The Horses Heart, it deals with the Wild horse roundups by the BLM and stopping slaughter in the US. The truth is the BLM is rounding up the American mustang and shipping them off to never be seen again. There used to be 21/2 million mustangs now less than 30,000. The answer is responsible breeding of animals not slaughter. Hear in the west our rescues do a good job with the unwanted domestic horses and see that the others are delt with HUMANLY. The above site will take you to many responsible sites if you care to investigate. Just my opinion. I am JB's wife so you don't have to get on him, Thanks

 

[jackinok]

imho,the worst thing that has happened to the horse industry is the laws against horse slaughter.They used to be worth at least something,,,no difference in my mind in eating horse or any other kind of meat.Ive never to my knowledge eaten any but I'm told its good.I would a whole lot rather see a old or unused horse go to slaughter as to stand in pasture and starve or be abused ,which is the fate of most when their owners no longer want them,or in todays economy can no longer keep them up properly.