The slaughter houses in Texas (where I live), have a great market for horse meat in France. There are restaurants and meat markets in Paris which specialize in horsemeat for patrons who seem to like it. I have seen these restaurants. There was an injunction on this commerical effort for a while. I don't know if it has been lifted. During the injunction, 'horse traders' were selling horses for just a few hundred dollars.
To paraphrase Col. Potter (M*A*S*H)
'Horses are noble beasts and should not be eaten. Cows are ugly, we're doing them a favor by eating them.'
Can't remember exactly the line, its been quite a few years.