what is that?

::zips lips::

My sister ate horsemeat while she was in Kazakhstan with the Peace Corp. When we asked her what it tasted like, she said roast beef. She had to eat what was offered lest she offend her hosts. I don't think she would eat it today if offered.

it's Good Mood Food!!

Yeah, but it will have less "Moo"!

What nobody really talks about is the fact that the majority of horses in the US are given medications and treatments that are prohibited by the FDA for use in food animals.

The most common substance is Phenylbutazone, or "Bute" which is like horsey aspirin. The problem with bute is that it is a known carcinogen in humans and its only approved use by the FDA is for dogs or horses not intended for human consumption, or for female dairy cattle under 20 months of age.

http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/apr03/030415d.asp

Other substances given to horses which are NOT allowed to be given to food animals are:
Ivermectin
http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AnimalVeter...s/ucm049866.pdf

Regumate (a powerful female hormone to regulate the estrus cycle of mares)
http://www.regu-mate.com/label.asp

Anabolic steriods are commonly used in performance horses such as racehorses, rodeo and show horses.

Here is a more complete list of the common substances:
http://www.vetsforequinewelfare.org/prohibited-drugs.php

And this article contains additional information on the issue of tainted horsemeat from the U.S.

Tainted horse meat supply

So yeah - eat up....

Ok horsey friends that I know are lurking...why is nitrofurazone
on the list? No...I dont eat it, but I do slather it on every cut/scrape I, the kids, horses, dogs or cows have.

(this is one of those moments I reach for my phone to text my dad the veterinarian and really miss him)

I don't know Jen but I'll be looking at the jar when I get home!! That stuff is amazing!

I know...right. It beats the heck out of neosporin.

I probably shouldn't rub DMSO on myself either. Dad never used people medicine on us. We had whatever was in his truck.

I haven't tried DMSO on myself yet but have used it plenty on the horses. The staples in the first aid kit...nitrofurazone, DMSO and scarlet oil. And yes, I have used the scarlet oil on myself.

I have been using DMSO and Nitrofurazone with my Veterinarian Dad's knowlege (as in he put it on me) since I was a kid! Works great!

Soylent green here we come....

This is what is on the FDA's site regarding Nitrofuran

http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/CVMUpdates/ucm137145.htm

According to this book, oral use of Nitrofuran causes mammary and ovarian tumors.
Google books - veterinary medications

Here is what I found on DMSO - I know its use in humans is controversial:
http://health.centreforce.com/health/DMSO.html

And some additional info on what cannot be in our food supply:
http://www.farad.org/eldu/prohibit.html

What I don't get is - if this stuff were as rampant in cattle as it is in horses, people would be all up in arms and the Europeans would ban beef imports from the U.S. But when found in horses, it just gets kind of a shrug. I don't understand the double standard. Either this stuff is okay to be in food animals or it's not. And if it is not okay, then we should not be slaughtering most horses for food.

It would depend on who you are feeding it to

To me, we shouldn't be slaughtering horses for food for the same reason we don't slaughter dogs for food. Some animals are so devoted to us and give us so much value through means that have nothing to do with "nutrition" for humans that it just seems wrong (IMO) to eat them, or at least to make eating them into an industry.

Horsist!

First time I read that, I didn't see the "s"

I dont take Furacin (brand name) orally...unless I accidentally bite a fingernail after applying it. My dad's comments on DMSO is that you'd have to soak in a tub of it for DAYS for your body to absorb enough of it through your skin to cause damage. Right, wrong, who knows!

You might like this story that I wrote for the Thoroughbred Rescue/Adoption/Retirement organization that I work with:
http://www.excellerfund.org/articles/perhaps-you-know-joe.html

And you can read about the heartbreaking fate of the Champion racehorse Exceller:
http://www.excellerfund.org/story-of-exceller.html

Exceller, the only horse to defeat two Triple Crown winners in a single race, was nominated to the Horse Racing Hall of Fame the same month he was sent to slaughter.

In this view of the 1978 JCGC, you can Exceller's amazing acceleration on the backstretch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNjPPoLdAdM

The version on this page has a better picture quality but not as wide of a panorama:
http://www.excellerfund.org/exceller-bio.html

Ferdinand is another very sad story of a prominent racehorse sent to the slaughterhouse.

Oh....and i'm gonna check out those links when i get a chance....thanks PR.

I agree (same with dolphins and other mammals that we like), but we have a luxury in this country of having enough other food animals other than bugs.

Ironically - both Exceller and Ferdinand were trained by Charlie Whittingham and ridden by Bill Shoemaker. Whittingham and The Shoe are each regarding as among the best and also the most humane toward the horses.

My story of Joe talks about Ferdinand at the end.

i think i'll hoof it over to my butchers tonight and see what is on the menu...

Happy - make sure your burger doesn't come with an extra dose of Regumate or it could wipe out your testosterone.

Unless that's what your goal is....