With all of the banter over the horse processing plants that were closed in 2007, and that many horsemen (myself included) are working to get opened back up, if only through signing petitions, sending letters and trying to educate people about what's happened with horses still being slaughtered - but being shipped to Canada and Mexico for it. I've still have slaughter waiting for a topic, but we'll stick to pet or livestock right now.
So, a web search of what they are officially classified as brings up all sorts of things, including the slaughter controversy, and is part of why I've had this title to write on for a long time but haven't moved forward on it. I *believe* the USDA still has them classified as livestock, but definitely not a food animal like cattle, but then California recently, to my understanding, took that title off and have their horses 'unclassified' - it's all a jumble, with a lot of emotion tied into it.
Personally, I cannot NOT classify horses as livestock - they're large and live outside, not to mention that they use large animal veterinarians (NOT the 'pet vets' you find in the middle of the city) and you can't keep them in the city limits of them vast majority of towns. I've never heard of anyone 'potty' training them like you do a cat to use a litter box (well, you don't really *train* a cat, but they prefer a box) or a dog to go outside and even the miniature horses aren't small enough to fit in a cage or terainium like birds, hamsters, and lizzards, etc. BUT, I also believe that livestock can be pets. With the way my own horses are treated, I'd say they are pets... or, more accurately, companion animals. I've also seen 4H kids with their show livestock, be it sheep, chickens or a 1000 pound steer, treating them like pets - caring for an animal, and maybe spoiling them a little, isn't what determines how they are categorized. Bottom line, in my mind, is that livestock have a job either feeding us or working for us. In which case, many dogs would be considered livestock as well with all the hearding, gaurd and service dogs out there. My daughter also shows rabbits in 4H and has to do a quality assurance training every year because rabbits and chickens are considered livestock with 4H, to my knowledge - due to the fact that many people breed and sell them for meat, like cattle.
