Horse meat forms a significant part of the culinary traditions of beef fajita casserole with rice countries, particularly in Eurasia. The eight countries that consume the most horse meat consume about 4. During the Paleolithic, wild horses formed an important source of food for humans.

In many parts of Europe, the consumption of horse meat continued throughout the Middle Ages until modern times, despite a papal ban on horse meat in 732. The earliest horses evolved on the North American continent, and by about 12,000 BC, they had migrated to other parts of the world, becoming extinct in the Americas. France dates its taste for horse meat to the Revolution. With the fall of the aristocracy, its auxiliaries had to find new means of subsistence. The horses formerly maintained by the aristocracy as a sign of prestige ended up being used to alleviate the hunger of the masses. Hunger during World War II led to horses being eaten. Horse meat gained widespread acceptance in French cuisine during the later years of the Second French Empire.

Horse meat has a slightly sweet taste reminiscent of beef. Many consumers allege not being able to tell the difference between beef and horse meat. Meat from younger horses tends to be lighter in color, while older horses produce richer color and flavor, as with most mammals. Horse meat can be used to replace beef, pork, mutton, venison, and any other meat in virtually any recipe. Horse meat is usually very lean. Jurisdictions that allow for the slaughter of horses for food rarely have age restrictions, so many are quite young, some even as young as 16 to 24 months old.

This article appears to contradict itself on consumption in Mexico. Please see the talk page for more information. In most countries where horses are slaughtered for food, they are processed in a similar fashion to cattle, i. In 2005, the eight principal horse meat-producing countries produced over 700,000 tonnes of it. In 2010, Mexico produced 140,000 tonnes, China 126,000 tonnes, and Kazakhstan 114,000 tonnes. As horses are relatively poor converters of grass and grain to meat compared to cattle, they are not usually bred or raised specifically for their meat.

A misconception exists that horses are commonly slaughtered for pet food. In many countries, such as the United States, horse meat was outlawed for use in pet food in the 1970s. Carcasses of horses treated with some drugs are considered edible in some jurisdictions. For example, according to Canadian regulation, hyaluron, used in treatment of particular disorders in horses, in HY-50 preparation, should not be administered to animals to be slaughtered for horse meat.

Horse meat is commonly eaten in many countries in Europe and Asia. Earlier in Islam consuming horse meat is not haram, but makruh, which means it should be avoided, but eating it is not a sin like the eating of pork, due to its other important usage. Horse meat is forbidden by Jewish dietary laws because horses are not ruminants and do not have cloven hooves and are therefore not kosher. In the eighth century, Popes Gregory III and Zachary instructed Saint Boniface, missionary to the Germans, to forbid the eating of horse meat to those he converted, due to its association with Germanic pagan ceremonies. While no taboo on eating horse meat exists per se, it is generally considered by ethnic Russians to be a low-quality meat with poor taste, and it is rarely found in stores. In 732 AD, Pope Gregory III began a concerted effort to stop the ritual consumption of horse meat in pagan practice. In some countries, the effects of this prohibition by the Roman Catholic Church have lingered, and horse meat prejudices have progressed from taboos to avoidance to abhorrence.

According to the anthropologist Marvin Harris, some cultures class horse meat as taboo because the horse converts grass into meat less efficiently than ruminants. Totemistic taboo is also a possible reason for refusal to eat horse meat as an everyday food, but did not necessarily preclude ritual slaughter and consumption. Roman sources state that the goddess Epona was widely worshipped in Gaul and southern Britain. In ancient Scandinavia, the horse was very important, as a living, working creature, as a sign of the owner’s status, and symbolically within the old Norse religion.