people eat horses?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Yeah... it's pretty common in Europe.

Normally because horse meat is cheaper, not necessarily tastier.

Quite a few of the restaurants now serving horse meat get their food from better and more ethical sources than was once the case. I have mixed feelings on this matter.

i could never eat a horse. that would make me sick. horses are way too badass to eat

Eh, killing is still killing. Even if the captive bolt might be better that simply slitting the throat during full consciousness, it's far from perfect, and it doesn't always work. A violent end is still a violent end...
When we have the ability to bestow compassion, why do we still do such a half-assed job of it? ...Because it's cheaper, like you said. ...and it's far more convenient than being responsible.

Its also common in some areas of Canada.

Good gravy I didn't know that o_O

Eep, at least those who'd ride would be castrated by that serrated blade. :P

Good art and good message.

save a horse, eat a pig. ;9 how about donkeys?

Donkeys are still equine, and thus are just as special to me...
But that's not to say i advocate killing anything else instead, i think it's hypocritical to value the life of one thinking being over another. We're not a hunter-gatherer society anymore, it's no longer necessary... (though our population is quite excessive, which is part of the problem...)
Anyway, i'll stop preaching, heh. You can have a pig if you want, i'll stick to tofu :P Thanks for looking!

:o ....... it's ok.. i'll just eat twice as much meat to make up for your portion.

The system is faulty, and we all are its slaves and victims. Some more so than others.

How could I eat someone I love...? Never, I was in Switzerland and came upon a package in the meat department with a small image of a horse on it, I nearly jumped the guy working there who was stocking the meat shelf. It made me so sick to my stomach, the rest of the day was horrible.

Anyone who sends their horse off for slaughter, I would want them strapped to a sugerical table and slowly dissected.

-Korkan

Yeah, i was randomly browsing some stuff the other night and was reading arguments from some ranchers in Oklahoma about why horse slaughter is fine and good... and well, i know people need to make a living, but god... when you send your older horses off to the auction or the meat market because they're no longer good enough to serve you and you want to 'recoup your losses' as much as possible by getting paid for their lives... something seems wrong to me.
I mean, would anyone sentence their grandparents to death when they started becoming a financial burden?

Every time i think it through and try to rationalize peoples' reasons for things like this, it always comes down to "human life is priceless, but everyone else has a price tag" ...When things become inconvenient, people don't want them anymore. And unless it's a human being, that means throwing it away or selling it. Because every non-human is just a posession, not a person...

Eh, you understand, i know you do. It frustrates me, and it hurts.

I know exactly what you mean...I would rather turn on a human, gut them, and eat them if I was starving and had to choose between a horse and human.

A handful of years ago, I was in Wenesday night youth church class, I had friends there. But that one night, again, I was ready to strangle the person in charge. After a long blathering of how everyone but Christians were going to burn in Hell (that was pissing me off too), someone asked: "Well what about my dog? Will he be in Heaven?"

Rightous Woman: "Nope, animals don't have souls...God put them on his Earth for us to use them as we see fit"

I had never been so angry in church before...my knuckles were white and my face red, I had to step out of there and outside the church before I exploded. This was shortly after I found my love, and it just tore me apart at how that woman acted when talking about souls. Like she knew personally and had checked in with God.

Humanity makes me sick.

-Korkan

I almost suggested you go and work for PETA. Your iconic use has a lot of rhetoric value. So much that it would be dangerous in the hands of such a group.

I hope they stay away from it. o.o They reflect badly on my own goals...
Hmmm, i'm glad you think this has value in that way though, because in my hands it is a weapon too. I like to think i'm more rational than PETA... but of course i would think that of myself.

I trust you more with the weapons. I've seen what you do with rusty old.... weapons. PETA sucks, I just don't know of any other animal advocacy groups.

PETA hurts more animals than they save.

Hochsteiners sell for about a million each. Cant beat that! I knew a nice old lady who had 6 that she bred and resold. Theres a lot of money in breading.

Yeah, there is... unfortunately that's why so many people try to do it, and why there are so many 'sub-par' horses being bred alongside those champions, only to end up in the knock-box. Commerce demands perfection, and that sucks for the ones who aren't perfect...

I still think putting pricetags on lives is pretty abominable. The slave-trade was the same... lives being equated as monetary values. The only difference is that humans are seen as people, when others are still viewed as less (and therefor disposable) by our culture.

Your right about the slave trade puting a value on people bieng wrong, but you have to remember that at about the same time period and prior, horses were 'the' sourse of transportation. without them Paul Revere would not have made it to the state house in time to light the lanterns warning the people of the British. I could go on with stuff like that, but you know what I mean. Likewise, slaves built America. Without slavery, the crop industry in which the south depended upon would have failed long ago. Founding America would have taken much longer.

These debates are always interesting. Honestly, I don't really think about it. No I don't like the idea of killing horses for anything really. I don't mind though cows or chickens or things like that (the things I eat) If you eat it, usually you wont really mind. I just don't think about it really. To my knowledge they arnt thinning equine populations with it so i'm not that concerned. I just don't really think about them doing it or really how they kill animals to eat. Its never pretty. Honestly humans will do what we need to survive. Things like the killing of animals for minimal parts (the sharks they take fins and dumb whole bodies back for example) is something to really be concerned about. I just try not to think about it. Call it being ignorant, but its just the way the world goes. We have to eat, and are high in intelligence. Does that make it right> Who's to say it is or isn't?

We do have to eat, however, as intelligent creatures we also are not limited to just scarfing down whatever ambles by either. Eating animals in western countries is a choice, because we have such a wide variety of other things we can eat to gain those nutrients instead.

Killing things for profit is never about survival. Eating animals, unless you kill them with your own two hands, is also oftentimes not about survival (barring extreme dietary disorders, that is). Just because not thinking about things is the way the world functions currently does not mean it is the only possibility.

Not using the whole animal is very much an abomination - the sharks you mention, tigers and elephants taken by poachers, trophy deer hunters and the like earn quite a bit of scorn from me. They are doubling their offense - first, to take a life without need, and second, to not use what they have taken.

I have friends who eat meat. I do not. I do not look down upon them - they have made their choices, but it is -a choice-. The more people realize that choices exist, the better off we will be in general, because thought and rational discourse are good things, if nothing else.

With me it came down to the mountain of reasons why I shouldn't eat animals and only one reason why I should - they are tasty. YMMV obviously.

I just had to go look up YMMV lol

Silly internet :D

I would never eat horse even if i will starving. They are such a noble creatures, poor slaves of the humans =/ And i think humans still do not understand what horses have done for them. Eating equines is so wrong in very bad way. I even think that horses are so way better than humans.

I approve of this art.

ahahaha... I totally thought to Desty Nova's carousel the first time I saw this...

Good grief man. That's deep. Makes me want to eat a horse for dinner now.

D: Like... "eat" ?

I just said that to be dumb. There's a fork and a knife in the horse so I was like DINNERTIEM! No I don't want to eat a horse. We taste too bad :B

Well i meant another "eat" xD Like licking horse's ass xD omg perv xD

This really hits me where it hurts....It really does. and I mean that in a beautiful way. I totally agree with you here. It pulls on my heart strings to see these beautiful animals treated the way they are....It kills me when I hear people say horses are "dumb"....

I'm so tired of the bullshit vegetarian militia shit in this gallery. You're talented but the beastiality doesn't mix with the ohgoddonteatanimals. I just ignored the horse porn before but by now I'm kind of sick of it. Totally unwatching.

Alright, whatever floats your boat. :)
I say what i need to say to express myself, and if you don't understand, then it's not my problem.

*licks EC*
Sometimes the truth strikes a nerve in some and they react badly as they have a hard time tryn to cope with the reality of things.

The reality of things is that we are NOT horses, inside or out. We are human beings and human beings are omnivores. The reality of things is that although other animals were not 'put here for us to eat' it is the natural order of things. :/ Sorry to bust your bubble.

If it bugs the crap out of you why on earth are you watching EC? You could always do the whole un-watch thing and just put it out of your mind rather than hang around and insult the guy. I mean, unless that's your thing.

The way i see it, we by our own actions we're no longer part of the natural order that way. For example, if we all decided to go back to being hunters like our ancestors, it wouldn't be long before there'd be nothing left. And we developed agriculture, this kind of makes us an exception as well.
We have the ability now to cause less suffering than we do, by far... but we don't, because we're not ready to make that commitment... but, those of us who do change our own lifestyles should be proof enough that a human being doesn't need to eat meat just becuase it's "the way it's always been". I'm still quite healthy, and i haven't had any in two years.

Anyhow, i don't force my ideas on anyone, and i do understand that the world isn't going to change anytime soon... but as this is a big part of my own life, it's no surprise that it reveals itself in my art from time to time.
Just because our parents did things a certain way doesn't mean we have to.

So, i'm sorry if my ideas bother you... and if they bother you so much that it makes you frustrated and annoyed there are two things that you can do: one is to think about why, and maybe consider what i've said, and the other is to turn away.

I'm relatively content with my beliefs, so i can assure you the stuff i create is going to follow this pattern for a while yet - and i'm certainly not keeping you here.

Why would we push back thousands and thousands of years of evolution, invention, and learning... to make a couple of begetarians feel better?

I tend to value compassion... perhaps that's my flaw?
But since we don't have to kill, why do we still do it? It's easier... and it's more convenient, sure.
Is it wrong to value compassion more than ease?

Correct me if i'm wrong, but it seems that you and many other people still see non-humans as being worth significantly less than we are, and that justifies treating them as disposable. Do you think they feel any less than we do?

If you're comfortable with condoning unnecessary killing, then you're in the majority... and i can't really condemn you as a person for it, but i still say it's pretty barbaric and lacking in compassion.

I'm not a vegetarian personally but I have the class to accept and not jump on people that are.I understand that everyone is diffrent....

I'm thinking someone is being a troll cause they have some insecurity issues they need to cope with.

I thought you were "totally unwatching" ? Maybe you should stick with your original plan.

You think the gallery is bad, you should try being a meat eater and living with him. Oh GOD, the drama.

That last thing you said there goes for just about any subject relating to people. We are inconsiderate beings driven by consumption.

We're immature... i think given enough time, our species will grow up. ...that is, if we don't destroy ourselves and the rest of the world in the process.

Aye, after I got a horse I wound up making friends with an upper-class family that bred and showed Arabians.... in other words, ugh -- I know what you mean. The horse industry is disgusting.

I totaly agree with you on tha horses.There are always people out there that would be more then happy to buy,or adopt them and give them the full life that they deserve. Awsome work. :)

That's very powerful. Very powerful.

As the anti-slaughter movement goes forward, I just hope that the thousands of horses who are saved do not in the end face some crueler fate. The possibility troubles me.

I understand all too well..
Working in the industry for a living I see first hand how people treat and use horses..... for a buck or profit... Im in this for love. I know i will not ever be rich off my work .Its all i ever wanted in life.. I have been able to turn some people around in their thinking... And I hope as time goes on I can correct more peoples views one by one if i have to.

This is exactly why I'm getting out of the business.

Well, that and it's not paying for the medical bills it racks up.

It makes me sick to hear someone who makes a living off of running babies into their graves talk about how they "love horses." Blind bastards. They love their profit margins, nothing else.

agreed -___- they wanted me to go visit an equine slaugtherhouse for vet school, I could never EVER support that kind of crap I'd rather fail the topic. I hate this stupid country of shit, they don't even stun horses to slit their necks, they use mechanical methods to keep them from moving and slit their necks while they are still concious and moving.. it's terrible... after 25 years of abuse they end up on a slaugtherhouse I'm getting out of here I'm sick of people

Mexico... I've heard some things, and it's not very nice. I saw a video of one Mexican place that did their killing by jabbing at the horse's neck above the withers with a knife to try and sever the spinal cord... obviously not a very precise action that took many stabs to complete, the horse squealing in mortal terror all the while. ;_;
Ugh. What people do really makes me hurt...

No matter what method is used though, killing is a violent thing, and anything violent will never be humane as they like to say it is. There are no humane deaths in slaughterhouses anywhere...

I don't get why vets sometimes have to go to slaughterhouses as part of their training, it happens in my country too... but it would seem to me that wanting to be a veterinarian in the first place implies that you seek to be compassionate and you love animals (if you didn't love animals why would you be learning to be a vet?)
I dunno, is it just to expose students to the 'reality' of the horrible things we do? I'm sure anyone who does go there as part of their training will probably come out a little different... and a little more numb.

I know one job that one could take as a vet is to be a slaughterhouse vet/inspector... and actually work there! god, that must be the worst thing to be. It seems so contradictory to me.

Anyhow... sorry for the long reply. I feel your pain. Wish i didn't know it, but i do... *hugs*

terrible country to live it >< they don't care about people either, I can't walk alone at nigth without being afraid someone will jump out and ... well... you know what's next ^^U it's really common nowdays, it happens every single day.

I know! I can't understand it >< all for the sake of pieces of paper or comfort, I'd rather live in poverty than earn my living by killing.

Very moving and disturbing. I think others commenting here before me have more aptly stated the horrors of the slaughterhouse and the entire meat industry. At the very least you'd think the animals that provide us with food would be treated with more respect. No animal deserves to die in the frightening and painful manner which the bio-industry deems to be common practice.

love the idea dam marey go raund up and dawn but seriusly nice work

Another damn good piece that I can relate to.

As to one of the above comments...
why do people, when finding one is vegetarian, always feel inclined to say LOL I'LL JUST EAT YOUR PORTION OF MEAT LOL. :|
I HATE that.

Yeah, it's something i've gotten pretty used to... it's sort of like when people have misconceptions and believe that because you don't eat meat your health will fail - liek when i cut my finger open at work once - a pretty ordinary accident for a deli... and my step-father (the owner, and someone who really doesn't understand vegetarianism at all) was all like "obviously you're losing your reflexes... here, have some chicken, it'll fix you."
It's silly.

Ugh, it has been 'interesting' to say the least the things people say to you when they find out you're vegetarian. I've had a co-worker become /offended/ because I was "robbing myself of life experiences" simply by not eating meat anymore. o_O It's so strange what goes through some peoples' heads.
Also, just noticed the other comments above from the person who stopped watching you because of the 'bullshit vegetarian propaganda'. Goodness! :P Since when is an artist not allowed to draw about something they feel strongly for? I mean, for the most part, that's what art is all about!
Silly people.

This is very sad...and all of your anti-horse slaughter pics make me think of Bane, my horse who is sadly passed away....
I want to do something for Bane and all of the animals out there but I don't know what to do.
I have tried really really hard to get off of a meat diet and I am now stuck on only fish...*folds ears back*

As long as you acknowledge it all and care... that's more than some people do.

If you think about it, even eating beef only once a week (for example) is a huge step, because a lot of americans have it with every meal it seems. It's no accident that our culture only sees a meal as a meal if it contains a steak or a chicken breast or whatever... but one doesn't need that much of it, it's actually rather unhealthy.
Er, my point is, even if people just ate meat half as much as they do, that's a huge difference in the impact the industry would have both on the environment and on those who are caught up on the wrong end of it.

If you've stopped eating land animals, that's a pretty significant change, and one for the better i think. Give yourself some credit. :)

As for me, aside from dietary changes and outspoken-ness/preachy-assholism ...i do art like this. :D Art to express my feelings, that maybe people can identify with, as you have. Art is a great tool...

Good art. Great point. Very good piece in my opinion.