She Was Forced to Put Her Horse Down. Then, She Did the Unthinkable.

Helena Ståhl had a horse. With this horse the 24-year-old competed in amateur harness races in Sweden. Then one day Ståhl’s horse, Iffy Mant, sustained a significant, ultimately fateful injury. On the advice of veterinarians, Ståhl had her racing partner put down.

And then she, um, well, she…ate him.

WAIT A MINUTE, HANG ON, let the young lady explain.

“For me there were no alternatives since I think the meat industry is going in the wrong direction, and to eat an animal that had a good life felt right for me,” Ståhl told the Swedish publication, The Local. “I told my mother that if I could not eat meat from an animal that had a good life, I will never eat meat again.”

See? Not so ba—yeah, it’s still not sitting right, is it?

Ståhl, who works as a groom, shared her, uh, “experience” on facebook and needless to say, it has caused quite a stir. As Ståhl explained to The Local:

“I’ve got very varied reactions. Everything from support and curious questions to wrinkled noses and hatred. I never thought that it would get this much attention because to me, this is a normal decision, and I know other people who have done the same thing.”

As shocking as this story might seem it’s important to remember that in many countries, Sweden being one, consuming horse meat is not necessarily taboo. And it’s not as if the horse was slaughtered strictly for his meat. So, I guess there’s that.

Stahl and Iffy Mant (Photo: Carina Olofsson via The Local)

“To eat meat from an animal that might never even get to see the sun, nobody thinks is odd. But to eat an animal that you, yourself, have taken care of is suddenly the oddest thing anybody has heard. I think that is scary.”

Look, I know many of you are appalled. Even when you get past the wholepreparing and eating horse meat thing, the fact that it was a horse she owned, and by all accounts treated well and adored, is difficult to [sorry in advance] swallow. Fact is, the horse had to go somewhere…the ground, an incinerator, a processing plant, her belly…so what does it really matter in the end?

Take a minute to open your mind and contemplate…

open…

contemplate…

Yeah, it still feels wrong, but damn it if I don’t kind of respect it.

“Many of my friends claim it’s the most delicious meat they have ever eaten,” Ståhl added.

OK, gross.