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Re:The Horse Helped Shape Our World at Great Expense to Itself by himlion on Friday February 16, 2018 @10:09AM (#16392829)
Why weren't they commonly eaten? A lot of fine meat I'd say in a time when meat was relatively more expensive.
Re:The Horse Helped Shape Our World at Great Expense to Itself by scentoni on Friday February 16, 2018 @02:13PM (#16395012)
Re:The Horse Helped Shape Our World at Great Expense to Itself by HeyLaughingBoy on Friday February 16, 2018 @11:41AM (#16393558)
Same reason we don't eat random dead deer at the side of the road...
Re:The Horse Helped Shape Our World at Great Expense to Itself by logfromblammo on Friday February 16, 2018 @12:52PM (#16394189)
...we don't?

Ah, you must live in one of those... whaddyacallem... cities.~

Roadkill is very often eaten by something, though if a human wants to do it, they have to pick it up before the county gets to it. After that, it's literally off the table. The exact method of disposal depends on jurisdiction, but some places have a sanctuary or research facility for carnivorous species nearby.

A random dead deer in NW Indiana, for instance, might get picked up by Wolf Park research facility, stored in their freezer, and fed to the main pack (still frozen).

Dead horses were picked up by knackers and turned into dodgy sausages all the time. This was just one of the unsafe food practices that led to the establishment of the FDA and public health inspectors.

Re:The Horse Helped Shape Our World at Great Expense to Itself by HeyLaughingBoy on Friday February 16, 2018 @01:21PM (#16394478)
Same thing happens here in MN. If it's within a certain distance of the wolf research facility (the exact name escapes me ATM) in Ely, it's taken there as food for their wolves.

However, since I'm human, I assumed the preposition "we" did not apply in this case.

And, FWIW, I live on a farm.

Re:The Horse Helped Shape Our World at Great Expense to Itself by logfromblammo on Friday February 16, 2018 @03:51PM (#16396072)
Oh, it does. Roadkill definitely gets eaten by people. At least one person, anyway.

If anyone wants to ride in on their high horse, I'd eat that too. Nobody does it who can afford not to.

Or nutters like Gary Busey.

Re:The Horse Helped Shape Our World at Great Expense to Itself by nugi on Friday February 16, 2018 @12:01PM (#16393729)
We actually do. Most large roadkill, if fresh, are often granted to locals. As long as the animal died of the accident, it is as safe to eat as a conventionally harvested one. More common in colder areas for obvious reasons, but I saw it down south too.
Re:The Horse Helped Shape Our World at Great Expense to Itself by jessaustin on Friday February 16, 2018 @01:04PM (#16394296)
I'm sure this happens somewhere, but there are other places where it would be a scandal. I harvested a roadkill turkey one time but only because I saw the van in front of me hit it. After it's on the ground, it's carrion.

It's worth remembering that horses dying of trauma on the street was much less common before widespread automobile adoption. A horse that died on the street in 1900 probably had a number of health issues that would have made consumption more risky. Also it probably had no meat left to speak of. One would have had to just boil everything, to have anything to eat.

Re:The Horse Helped Shape Our World at Great Expense to Itself by drb91 on Friday February 16, 2018 @12:15PM (#16393851)
Not as uncommon as you might think!