This would seem rational enough, and yet European and Asian cultures that depended heavily on the horse until quite recently still have no taboo against eating him.
Otherwise, though, you seem to be correct. I don't think the Mongols ate their horses, though they used them for everything else. The native Americans, many of whom did eat dogs, valued horses much too highly to eat them.
On the other hoof, though, in cultures and times where the ox was a major beast of burden he was still also food. It seems more complex than that.
Does anyone eat donkeys or burros except in cases of famine and starvation? What about zebras? Did the Greeks or Persians eat horses? I hadn't thought of this until now, but the Bible and Koran consider the horse unfit for use as food, which may be a factor as well. Though swine are also in that position and they are widely eaten in cultures with Judeo-Christian history...
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branchandroot
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Date: 2010-07-04 03:25 pm (UTC)Otherwise, though, you seem to be correct. I don't think the Mongols ate their horses, though they used them for everything else. The native Americans, many of whom did eat dogs, valued horses much too highly to eat them.
On the other hoof, though, in cultures and times where the ox was a major beast of burden he was still also food. It seems more complex than that.
Does anyone eat donkeys or burros except in cases of famine and starvation? What about zebras? Did the Greeks or Persians eat horses? I hadn't thought of this until now, but the Bible and Koran consider the horse unfit for use as food, which may be a factor as well. Though swine are also in that position and they are widely eaten in cultures with Judeo-Christian history...