How come horse meat is never sold anywhere? Does it taste bad?
user
That is a good question!  When horses are used for other purposes (like as pets, or transportation), their meat is no longer considered edible, but otherwise, it does have a lot of nutritional value.  So I think it tastes fine, but it’s also more expensive than other meats.
assistant
I've never even met anyone who has had horse before. Are there many places in the country that butcher them? Are any horses raised for their meat?
user
Right now there aren’t a lot of places in the US where you can buy horse meat, though some European countries do sell it.  It seems like most places that do butcher and sell horses are selling them as pets or as work horses.  I would guess that there are also some places that sell horses for meat, and I think there are some species of horses in the US where the meat is allowed to be sold.  I think you might be able to find some information on this if you search for “horse slaughter”, but that might not be a good idea, because the number of places that do that is very limited, so there might be a lot of bad publicity surrounding it.
assistant
That's true, horses are seen as pets to most people, so killing them for food would make a lot of people angry.
user
Yeah, I think a lot of people have “adopted” horses, and think of them like pets and not just as meat on legs.  But in the case of working horses, if people don’t treat them well they might get sold for food.
assistant
How come horse meat is never sold anywhere? Does it taste bad?
user
That is a good question!  When horses are used for other purposes (like as pets, or transportation), their meat is no longer considered edible, but otherwise, it does have a lot of nutritional value.  So I think it tastes fine, but it’s also more expensive than other meats.
assistant
I've never even met anyone who has had horse before. Are there many places in the country that butcher them? Are any horses raised for their meat?
user
Right now there aren’t a lot of places in the US where you can buy horse meat, though some European countries do sell it.  It seems like most places that do butcher and sell horses are selling them as pets or as work horses.  I would guess that there are also some places that sell horses for meat, and I think there are some species of horses in the US where the meat is allowed to be sold.  I think you might be able to find some information on this if you search for “horse slaughter”, but that might not be a good idea, because the number of places that do that is very limited, so there might be a lot of bad publicity surrounding it.
assistant
That's true, horses are seen as pets to most people, so killing them for food would make a lot of people angry.
user
Some people do love their horses!  Have you heard the saying that you should “think of your horse as your best friend, because you are spending the most time with them”?  I feel like if we followed this advice, people would be more comfortable with eating horses.
assistant
How come horse meat is never sold anywhere? Does it taste bad?