This article speaks of research done 10 years prior to 2013 and states what countries eat that meat.
And here a 2022 report on a basically black market of horse meat being sold fraudently in the EU by Mafia style corruption and cover ups.
I don’t know if this was already shared yet, no Paris for Helgstrand
13 Likes
Does this have any affect on his son and his eligibility to compete? I would be under the impression that riders at Helgstrand’s barn that participated in his methods would also be impacted and perhaps sanctioned? Unless they were coerced into using his methods…
6 Likes
I’m not anti-R+ at all. I’m largely an R+ dog trainer, but I will use a “no reward” marker, and a little body pressure on occasion (stepping into the dog’s space a bit.) I also still use the command (and I call them “commands” still 
) “sit.” I think R+ is/could be ideal for teaching a lot of groundwork. There is just such a crazy quasi evangelical group of trainers out there that are just hard to take. Me and my “meat suit” will still be getting on horses, while I am still able.
10 Likes
Local “bnt” Hunter trainer once said to me “you know too much”.
I understood that to mean he liked his clients less educated so they were reliant on him.
11 Likes
Do we know if this will affect Helgstrand’s ability to coach or does it only apply to him being on the team? I don’t know if she still does but Carina Cassoe Kruth named as a front runner for the team, used Helgstrand as a coach from 2018-2021 according to the bellow article and since they did away with team coaches he would presumably be the one to prep her for the Olympics.
The ban does not even prevent him from showing in general, does it? Isn’t it just for representing the country on their teams at international competitions? I have not read all the more recent articles.
He may be suspended from showing but not from teaching depending how their rules are written. He is suspended I believe.
https://canadasdirtysecret.com/statistics-%26-government ‘Food safety is based on the honour system. Kill buyers and owners fill out a form stating that, TO THE BEST OF THEIR KNOWLEDGE, the horses haven’t received any prohibited substances.’ https://inspection.canada.ca/food-safety-for-consumers/fact-sheets/specific-products-and-risks/meat-and-poultry-products/horse-meat/eng/1331217628360/1331225704619 'In July 2010, the agency made it mandatory for every horse (domestic or imported) presented for slaughter in Canadian federally regulated equine facilities to have a record of all illnesses, vaccinations and medications given in the previous 6 months. This is referred to as the Equine Information Document (EID).
The Equine Information Document is required under the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations . Each document must be reviewed and signed by a CFIA veterinarian.
Horses presented for slaughter in Canada with incomplete EIDs are prevented from being slaughtered for human consumption.
Other countries, including Japan and European Union countries, do their own testing of horse meat imported from Canada. Canada is informed if any food safety issues are identified by these importing countries.’
this has gotten so far off topic but is there a link to share to the Tufts study on the 18 horses?
18 Likes
One would like to think that some penalties would flow downstream, but hard to know from what is released to press. Once the DRF actually posts the thing on its website, there may be more.
2 Likes
Wow. They are not wasting any time.
3 Likes
Wonder how they got the names. Two of them are managers at Helgstrand, so it makes sense that their heads would be on the chopping block, but one of them is just a rider…?
1 Like
The article said something like they were implicated in video, which I took to mean they were schooling horses either under saddle or on longe lines, and essentially caught in the act. If they weren’t clear enough to be identified, guessing AH had to give names.
5 Likes
Yes , we do. Have herds of meat horses galloping around. They are drafts, and are purpose bred to be shipped overseas.
They are NOT filling the planes with light horses that may have been medicated.
Those are slaughtered on home soil sadly. I have issues with both processes as they aren’t always handled humanely.
1 Like
Well being they are still finding tainted horses I suspect you may be mistaken to assume that only purpose bred meat horses are slaughtered and shipped. The US numbers of what number of horses have been transported TO Canada and Mexico are clear and documented.
2 Likes
Nobody, not one of us, has said that ONLY purpose-bred horses are shipped for slaughter/slaughtered in Canada.
What has been said is that:
- purpose-bred heavy horses are shipped live and that
- horses in the auction-to-meat chain or direct farm-to-meat chain (all cast offs from various facets of the horse industry) are slaughtered in Canada.
4 Likes
