u/Jealous_Flamingo_682

Tell me I'm lost. It's probably a B12 deficiency...

Fun fact: horses are the most ethical "livestock," because they are not factory farmed and are often discarded from other exploitive industries. As long as the goal wasn't murder, it's totally ethical, right? Right??

I'm vegan btw (Well, close enough! Horses don't count the same as the factory-abused species, just like fish don't count as much as cows, or pet food doesn't count as much as human food, or leather doesn't count as much as flesh...)

uj/ The carnivore diet subs on Reddit are basically like the anti-VCJ. They often jerk just as hard in the wrong direction. It is time to start noticing when they outjerk us without giving them legitimacy.

So I have recently been trying to give up meat. However, between my literal cravings for the stuff (including keeping me up all night from the withdrawals), the urge to eat nothing but chocolate chip cookies unless I am munching on animal flesh, and the fact that my pets still eat 100% non-vegan food, I have stumbled upon a great idea. If the cats can, according to a leading PETA organizer in my neighborhood, eat all the meat they want and it is totally ethical, because it is just “scraps” and “they need it,” who’s to say I cannot eat that myself? After all, I think my emotional and mental unwellness requires an exception to the vegan code of ethics too, just like pets, right???

I have been looking at different pet food and trying to find high-quality, human-grade options. I was stunned by the number of animals I could eat ethically. They have everything from dead chickens and cows on tap to dead horses to even dead kangaroos and beavers. Best of all, because it was from the pet store, totally vegan, right? After, it would be “unrealistic” to apply vegan morals while at PetSmart, right? Only my Whole Foods receipt must be non-carnist.

Equinetarian horse-eater here. We should demand horses change their Neu5Gc for Neu4Gc immediately! Because 4 is a luckier number to me, so maybe I wouldn't get inflammation??? Also, severely B12-deficient and protein-deficient. Send help soon, I need my horse meat! No, no other meat will do, I have strict morals against all but the noble equine's flesh.

Let's just all eat more meat than ever, and feed cats 100% meat, and buy leather and use tallow and...just complain endlessly about factory farms and animal cruelty. But of course, when nothing changes, well, it wasn't our fault. Best of all, we don't have to change! Because so long as the system isn't getting our verbal support, surely it will crumble, right??? (Wait, why isn't this working?!)

The benefits of the complainivore:

1. No dietary or lifestyle change required (eat all the steak, eggs, butter, bacon you want!).

2. No requirement to really engage deeply with the moral horror of killing animals (because complaining solves everything).

3. Zero brainpower required (AI can write the complaints for you since they are so cookie-cutter that they require no thought).

4. No moral guilt over pet food, taxes, animal-tested products, tallow-containing plastics, etc.

5. No judgment from your friends and family who aren't vegan (because neither are you).

If you cannot bear to read about a species commonly seen as a companion in some parts of the world being treated as a food source, kindly don't continue reading. This post is only for those who are open to horse meat as a viable food source.

Before beginning, I would like to clarify this post. The title likely has some of you unsure. I know this question has been asked before in homestead communities, often in bad faith or by trolls. This post aims to reform the reputation of this nutritious and ethical protein source. To clarify. I don’t eat factory-farmed meat. Between the environmental damages, deadly pathogens, and ethical concerns, I have made steps to remove myself from this system. However, I still believe meat is necessary. Yes, humans are not carnivores, but surely we need some meat, right? A balanced diet is important. Additionally, I have trouble digesting many plant proteins. For example, I cannot eat soy because it makes me break out. I also find that B12 supplements (often from a poorly regulated industry) often give me headaches. Then there’s the land use. While factory farms are the biggest land use and pollution sources, large-scale monoculture isn’t much better. Pesticides cause runoff, and the sheer volume of these plots harms the soil and often encroaches on habitats, including essential ecosystems. For the sake of the planet and my health, I have decided to quit buying commercial food almost entirely. I don’t trust the system. But I am not going to give up meat. Instead, I decided to go looking for a better way to obtain this essential food.

After some research, I have stumbled upon two meats that I have decided fulfill my nutritional needs the best. Both are lean, and both are from animals that can lead very happy lives prior to being harvested. The first choice is rabbits, and here I have many resources. Ethical rabbitry is everywhere in this sub, and I have found many resources to obtain this B12 vitamin-rich meat. This is the superior white meat, and I intend to make this a significant portion of my diet, given the ease and speed of raising bunnies.

However, I have had less success finding info on my second meat of choice, horses. Like rabbit meat is superior white meat to chicken, so too is horse superior red meat to beef. Many farming communities, however, even the most accepting and pragmatic, often lose their minds when a horse enters. They simply refuse to discuss the topic because of some sentimental “horses are pets” logic. This annoys me because it is indefensible from a logical, pragmatic viewpoint (where animal death is a sad but necessary part of life, and this would have to include the horse too, right? Otherwise, isn’t it just cultural preference, not actual ethics, that says a horse is worse to eat than a rabbit or pig? The logic breaks down, especially when you see the actual nutrition data. Horses are legally livestock in most places in the world, including the US. Moreover, rabbits are often kept as pets, too, but people see the importance in accepting their consumption. People assume, for some reason, that horse meat requires extreme cruelty. It doesn’t. It can be done just as ethically as any other animal processing.

I want to get a few horses from foals and raise them as a herd that I can pick from when I want horse meat to eat. However, I have never had horses. I have opted to go with American Quarter Horses to start since they seem to be the easiest to raise with the best meat yield, but I want to seek the advice of experienced homesteaders before I get any foals. What are the specific needs of equines, and how can I provide them? Also, I want sweeter meat since I have had horse meat, and it tasted gamy and was very tough. I want a product that is smoother and sweeter. I know that cows are often finished on grain, but it doesn’t seem safe to give a horse corn or soy, so I was thinking of feeding them oats. Is there any way to feed them an all-oat diet during finishing without compromising their health or causing immediate foundering or colic? I want to maximize the glycogen levels for that sweet finish. If I start the all-oat diet at the 24-month mark, how many weeks of confined finishing do I need to ensure the muscle texture is smooth like premium grain-fed beef? What are the likely vet costs involved in farming horses for personal sustenance as a prime source of B12 and vitamins without the fat or calories of beef?

I also want advice on raising horses for pet food. I have 3 dogs and 5 cats. They all currently eat commercial pet food. However, as I learn about the unhealthy fillers, the unethical practices, and contamination in mainstream brands, I have decided to raise as much of their food on this farm as I can. I want to raise both fish and horses. I would appreciate it if you could give me a plan for how to do this, since I am brand new to homesteading. 

Based on advice I found online, I am ready to start the fish farm. However, I found no info for horses. I know that zoos feed their animals a diet of primarily horse meat, and it has been an ingredient in canned dog food in the past (Ken-L Ration), but I want to know how to raise horses specifically for dog food. Unlike the horses for my own consumption, I assume it would be healthier for the dogs to keep these horses strictly grass-fed, right? Any specific care for these horses that should differ from my personal consumption herd? Also, since these horses will be fed differently, I was thinking of keeping them in two disconnected pastures to ensure that the oat-fed horses don’t accidentally get fed to the dogs. Would that be possible? Since horses are social, how do I prevent the pet food herd from being stressed by the presence of the human food herd? I want to ensure the cortisol levels stay low in both, so I don't ruin the flavor profile of either product.

I also want to make sure to spend enough time with the horses while they grow and earn their trust, since these animals will, until I eat or feed them, be my companions. I will love and care for them as part of the family until that day. I am very inspired by Gordon Ramsey’s turkey homesteading (where he treats them with the utmost consideration and familiarity) and do intend to name all animals I raise, specifically after the Founding Fathers, to confer the highest honor onto them. Can anyone advise on how to let go when the time comes for them to be dispatched, knowing I did everything to make sure they had many, many good days and just one really bad day? I plan to provide them with the best lives possible for 3 years. Since we all agree that a quick, respectful harvest is the ultimate goal for any livestock, what is the most quick and humane caliber to use for dispatching a Quarter Horse to ensure they remain relaxed in their final moment? Horses, especially, are difficult to process ethically because of their awareness and stress. How do I make sure that they are calm so that the resulting meat isn’t ruined with stress hormones? How best to dress and prepare a horse carcass for preservation and cooking, given the large size of the animal?

Please don’t reply if you cannot be considerate. I respect that others here may not wish to farm or eat horses, but for me, this is just what is best for my needs. Please respect my personal choice to put whatever I choose in my body without judgment or trolling. Also, don’t attack the monetary logic of my proposed horse herd. For a homesteader who just wants a small herd, it is technically possible to raise horses for meat. I won't make money, but because selling it is banned anyway, this was never about money. This is about feeding myself. It’s a selfless endeavor for my health and the planet, not a get-rich-quick scheme like Big Ag. The cost to raise them and the poor feed-to-meat conversion ratio with horses is the price we pay for safe, ethical, and nutritious food that hasn’t been ruined by the industry. If it were solely about money, many homesteaders would likely have quit. It requires grit to keep going even when feed and seed costs spike, new laws try to criminalize animal processing, and every new slaughter brings a twinge of guilt and a reminder that this world is not perfect and death is sadly part of it. I love horses, but even I know that they would die anyway, and it is more ethical to harvest them while the meat can nourish me than let them break down and be sent to a renderer to be made into a thousand faceless industrial products (adhesive, plastic, lubricants, animal feed, and fertilizer, to name a few).

I've done the math on a garden, but for a truly self-sustaining homestead, horse meat is simply too nutritionally superior to ignore. While I could try to get horse meat through bookdoor channels, it is easier and safer for me to raise my own animals. Between the B12, the iron, and the Omega-3s, one Quarter Horse provides more than an acre of vegetables ever could. How do you all balance the finality of slaughter with the undeniable nutritional benefits for your families?

Here are the specific questions I am seeking advice on before starting my farm:

1. Since cows are finished on grain to achieve this, can I achieve the same result with an all-oat diet for horses? I want the best possible flavor for my family, so what is the ideal finishing period for maximum sweetness?
2. I have limited acreage. How many American Quarter Horses can I humanely fit in a small paddock if I am providing all their feed? I want to be efficient like the people here who raise 50 rabbits in a shed without being unnecessarily cruel. What is the minimum livestock spacing for a meat horse?"
3. I want to be 100% self-sufficient for my dogs and cats. Is it better for their health to have horses that were exclusively grass-fed, as detailed above, or will the oat-fed horse scraps be suitable as cheap, nutritious pet food?
4. I've seen the great tutorials here on dressing deer and hogs. For an animal the size of a Quarter Horse, what's the best way to bleed them out without a professional tractor? I want to do this right and honor the animal’s sacrifice for me and my pets’ sustenance. 
5. I know beef needs to hang for 14–21 days to tenderize. Given that horses’ meat is naturally lean and tough, should I build a custom walk-in cooler for a 1,000lb carcass, or is there a way to wet age horse meat in smaller primals?
6. For those of you who process your own steers or other large animals, what percentage of a 1,000lb animal is usable meat? I want to calculate if one Quarter Horse will last my 3 dogs and 5 cats through the winter.

Phew, I was worried that trillions of chickens would lose their jobs as \"holistic nutrition\" for our rescues!

Description:

Picture of Cat: "Necessary Evil, They Need Meat"

Picture of Chicken CAFO: "They Need Meat To Stop To Live"