Hungry Enough to Eat a (Miniature) Horse

The folks across the road from the Boggy Thicket raised miniature horses for several years.  She liked them and thought they were cute.  He did it because she liked them and they were a good investment.  They had one stubby little stallion that commanded stud fees in the $3,000 range and it seemed that they were always loading him up in their miniature trailer for conjugal visits.

When she passed away, he sold all the horses as soon as possible and started buying motorcycles.

The whole time the miniatures were growing across the road I wondered what the heck they were good for – now I’m told they are great for burgers, steaks and stews.

We Americans are definitely in the minority with our aversion to horse meat.  There are taboos – it ain’t Kosher – but it is a popular source of protein across the majority of Europe and Asia.  In Japan (Basashi) it’s even considered a delicacy served raw!

I’ll get back to the subject in a minute, but I had to share this. When asked about Kosher cat food Rabbi  Danzinger wrote:

In general, the laws of kosher are for (Jewish) humans, not for animals.

There are, however, two sorts of non-kosher food that we are not only forbidden to eat, but we are also forbidden to derive any benefit from:

1) Chametz on Passover. (Click here for more on this topic.)

2) A cooked mixture of dairy and meat.

So pet food that does not contain both milk and meat is fine for year-round use. If, however, the product contains meat, then this product may only be used if it doesn't also contain milk (or a milk derivative, such as whey or casein).

I should point out, though, that the "meat" that we may not cook with milk, or may not benefit from if it was cooked with milk, is meat from a kosher animal. Therefore, if it can be determined that the meat in the pet food comes from a non-kosher animal (such as horse meat), then it is "kosher" for your pet.

Rabbi Eliezer Danzinger for Chabad.org

Back on point – it would seem that if you were going to eat horses, it would be more efficient to eat regular full-sized horses, but I learned recently that, while lamenting the fact that little horses are being consumed,  the miniature horse association, USA Miniature Horse,  has a whole list of recipes on their website mini-horse.org

Due to overproduction of miniature horse in the USA and England, many tiny miniature horses are being slaughtered for the dining tables of Europe and Asia.

Advocates of eating miniature horses note that horsemeat is highly nutritious, has less fat than beef, and does not carry the risk of mad Cow disease.

In the USA, miniature horses are routinely being slaughtered for European dining, and their disemboweled corpses being stuffed inside the larger horse carcasses to save shipping space.

 Miniature Horse Recipes:

Horse and Pepper Pie

1 pound ground miniature horse meat

2 cups sweet red peppers, with sauce

1 onion, chopped

1 (4.5 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained

1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie

Place peppers, including liquid, into food processor; pulse until peppers are cut into small pieces.

Brown horse meat and onions. Add peppers, mushrooms, and cheese to meat mixture.

Spoon into bottom crust. Cover with top crust, and seal the edges. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) until crust is brown, and pie is heated through. Serves 8

Horseman Stew (Pastissada)

2 lb Horse meat

4 ts Olive oil

2 oz Butter

3 1/2 lb Onions

1 1/4 lb Pureed Tomatoes

1 Pint of Red Wine *Wine should be either Amarone, Bardolino, or Valpolicella

…..etc……

Well,  Hell.  If you’re not gonna eat ‘em, what are they good for?  I had no idea until I came across this website -

Guide Horse Foundation