Milking Horses? For Real Ya’ll
Milk . . . does a body good.
Okay so I was watching an old Gordon Ramsey and was shocked to see a little blurb on one of his shows about Horse Dairy farms in Belgium. Seriously?
The show had several people having a taste and most squidging up their faces in disgust. I’m like “Eeeeeuw”
Turns out the disgust was not taste related as it was the extremely low fat content. “It tastes like skim milk” was the common statement.
I’m like “Oh . . . okay well that’s not so bad.” After all skim milk is all I’ve ever drank since I was six” (seriously when watching people drink whole milk, or even 2% all that fat sticking to the side of a glass just totally grosses me out.)
The other big plus to milking horses is the Brabant Horse is primarily the milking horse of choice and this could very well save the breed. Registration of the breed is up considerably since the milking operations began.
Investigative reporter that I am I immediately started the quest for more info (i.e. google) and here’s what I found. From The Draft Horse Journal
Why equine milk? (Is beneficial ) . . . especially for metabolical, gastrointestinal and liver problems, but also for recovering after surgery and severe illness, cholesterol problems, allergy to cows’ milk, stress, skin problems, stiff joints or just to keep fit and well. Horse milk strengthens the body, boosts the immune system and increases a person’s energy and vitality. In the case of metabolic disorders, it stimulates internal cleansing. A word of caution–people having allergies to horses should, of course, be very careful before drinking horse milk. Allergies to horses, horse hair and horse milk is an unfortunate reality for some.
Horse milk is very close in composition to human milk except in fat and calories. Cows’ milk consists of 3.7% fat, while human milk is 3.5%. Horse milk, however, is just 1.25% fat, most of which is polyunsaturated (the “good” kind). Furthermore, horse milk contains just 44 calories per 100 grams (or 3.5273 oz.), compared to 64 for cows’ and 70 for human. Additionally, lactose (milk sugar) is higher in horse milk than in cow and human milk, as is albumin, the latter of which is very beneficial for improving digestibility.
Late Breaking News . . . really, really late.
I should say this is not necessarily breaking news. The Ramsey show as kinda old and the article quoted here was from 2002. I couldn’t find anything more current though honestly I didn’t work that hard at it. Still an interesting idea. I wonder how well they are doing now. Anybody know?
photo credit link I do actually have some Brabant photos but none of my horses were the beefy loveliness of this big-un.
Tags: horses
I don’t have experience milking horses (we have all geldings anyway!!), but I love, love, love Brabants! We have a team of “regular” Belgians, but one day, I want Brabants. The first time we saw them was at Horse Progress Days in Arcola IL. There was a team tied to a trailer and I just couldn’t get enough. so beautiful and strong.
Sigh… one day!
You and me both on wanting a Brabant. The teams I’ve photographed looked interesting but whenever I see them on tv they always llok so much more massive in the bone. Lovely.
When you get some you’ll have to send me pictures.
or, you can come out to Montana to visit and take the ones you want!!!
I always warn folks when they say things like that, that I’m the type of person to hold them to it. Consider yourself warned.
Perfect! You are welcome anytime (even before we get our Brabants!!) September is usually the most perfect month, but I have to say when our spring days are sunny there is no more beautiful place in the world!!
That’s so very generous of you, especially since for all you know I’m a psychopathic killer. Of course I’m not. Just sayin’ . . .
Montana is a beautiful state anytime time of year. I’ve been there a couple of times and always found it breathtaking.
hmm… I hadn’t thought about the psychopathic killer angle. I guess since you are a horse (animals in general!) person, you passed muster without more investigation. Call me crazy, but I trust people who love animals!!!
Your invitation stands!
Very interesting. I love the looks of this horse, too.
Hey Lorie
Good rule of thumb. Critter people are the best!