THE eating of horses has a long history. Many prehistoric cultures both ate and sacrificed horses, and the ban on horse meat by Pope Gregory III in 732 was in part an attempt to eradicate pagan rituals in the Germanic states.
The ban eventually had its effect, but again, religious beliefs combined with cultural and economic factors in making horse meat taboo in Europe.
From the early mediaeval period onwards, the horse grew in importance. It made no sense to consume such a valuable animal, when farming provided ready supplies of beef and mutton. So entrenched was this view that by the 17th century eating horses was banned in most countries.
By the Victorian period, eating horse meat was associated with desperation and poverty. During the Napoleonic wars, some continental cities were forced to consume the only available meat around as they were besieged and starving.
And when horse as food started to be popularised in the mid-19th century, it was partly driven by the need to feed growing numbers of urban poor at a time when meat prices were rising sharply. Its proponents argued that thousands of horses went to waste every day, mainly elderly cab nags, which were worked to death and then slaughtered for glue and pet food. In France, Belgium, Italy and Switzerland, the medical and culinary establishments lauded horse meat, and the working classes gradually accepted it. But in England, the arguments fell on deaf ears. GUARDIAN