What is the Social status of Cows and Sheep in Equestria?

[SilverStarApple 849]

I'm not sure why people flip out over this.

 

Animals in Equestria are exactly that: Animals. Even if some could speak, would it matter? The ability to speak doesn't equal sapience or sentience, let alone intelligence. Just look at most politicians.

[Buck Testa 5,503]

I'm not sure why people flip out over this.

 

Animals in Equestria are exactly that: Animals. Even if some could speak, would it matter? The ability to speak doesn't equal sapience or sentience, let alone intelligence. Just look at most politicians.

They are clearly communicating though, this isn't like a parrot they are able to have a conversatinon and express themselves. Where is the line drawn between sentient and non sentient? 

 

Also props on the politician burn XD

[SilverStarApple 849]

Yay I got a convert

 

Now someone earlier mentioned that Cows and sheep could be in a symbiotic relationship instead of a master slave one. I can kind of see that myself. The ponies aren't particularly malicious towards them like the way Sombra was against the Crystal ponies when he opressed them. That being said there is certainly a level of the ponies looking down on other species. Rainbow Dash from what I recall made a joke about donkeys, and the aforementioned "Critter" remark from Applejack about the sheep come to mind. Perhaps The Cows and sheep had to make due with what they had even if the ponies have a bit of a superiority complex over them. The question then becomes how much did they give up to have this symbiotic relationship and how much do they really benefit from it? Like I said, sheep aren't even given houses, and Cows are all kept in one place, and the products they produce are pretty much taken whenever the ponies want, So it appears awfully one sided if it IS symbiotic in nature. 

You're ignoring/not noticing how ponies feed these animals, give them shelter, care for them, milk/shear them, protect them from wolves and assorted other dangers, and generally keep them safe in a world where Tartarus exists and its monsters can escape at any time.

They are clearly communicating though, this isn't like a parrot they are able to have a conversatinon and express themselves. Where is the line drawn between sentient and non sentient? 

 

Also props on the politician burn XD

Thanks. Also, seriously, many non-sentient animals in nature do communicate with their own language. Does that mean those things are sentient? There was a rather nice explanation for this by the... ugh... fluffy pony fandom.

 

*Sad music is played on air horns as the camera zooms in on a pic of a crying Fausticorn*

[Buck Testa 5,503]

You're ignoring/not noticing how ponies feed these animals, give them shelter, care for them, milk/shear them, protect them from wolves and assorted other dangers, and generally keep them safe in a world where Tartarus exists and its monsters can escape at any time.

Thanks. Also, seriously, many non-sentient animals in nature do communicate with their own language. Does that mean those things are sentient? There was a rather nice explanation for this by the... ugh... fluffy pony fandom.

 

*Sad music is played on air horns as the camera zooms in on a pic of a crying Fausticorn*

Not ignoring, leaving it open for discussion

And that is certainly a valid point, Equestria is an extremely scary place especially so close to the everfree forest. It would be a feudal scenario where the Cows and Sheep place themselves as subjects for the "knights", a la ponies, in exchange for their goods and services like wool and milk. That is a pretty sound argument for a symbiotic relationship actually. Even if the ponies did look down on them, they mutually benefit from the agreement 

 

Does it mean they are sentient? What is the definition of sentient? Its the ability to think, perceive, and express themselves subjectively. Most animals Aren't sentient because they do not think subjectively, they behave on instinct. They are not self aware. That is why when an animal sees itself in a mirror it thinks its another of its kind, not its own reflection. Cats, Dogs, Birds, Gorillas, are all like that. 

 

 

The cows and sheep in this show however ARE aware of themselves, they do think and perceive subjectively. 

 

^ and like its been stated by others, they don't appear really seem all that opposed to the situation. The case for Serfdom is pretty strong. 

Edited February 18, 2016 by Buck Testa

[Grtxkkyz 387]

Well, they must be dependant on the ponies for a good deal of their needs it seems, whether it be symbiotic relationship or an agreement or pledge of sorts made between the species a long time ago, perhaps their bodies and hooves aren't well developed as those of the ponies for certain tasks, and they lack magic as previously mentioned. You see, there's this trope called Subordinate Excuse here http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SubordinateExcuse which could be applied to the situation of the cows and sheeps in Equestria. But then again, the show can be pretty inconsistent with its depiction of other talking animals.

[El Duderino 878]

Not ignoring, leaving it open for discussion

And that is certainly a valid point, Equestria is an extremely scary place especially so close to the everfree forest. It would be a feudal scenario where the Cows and Sheep place themselves as subjects for the "knights", a la ponies, in exchange for their goods and services like wool and milk. That is a pretty sound argument for a symbiotic relationship actually. Even if the ponies did look down on them, they mutually benefit from the agreement 

 

Does it mean they are sentient? What is the definition of sentient? Its the ability to think, perceive, and express themselves subjectively. Most animals Aren't sentient because they do not think subjectively, they behave on instinct. They are not self aware. That is why when an animal sees itself in a mirror it thinks its another of its kind, not its own reflection. Cats, Dogs, Birds, Gorillas, are all like that. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaMylwohL14

 

The cows and sheep in this show however ARE aware of themselves, they do think and perceive objectively. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-DL-Fjb8L0

^ and like its been stated by others, they don't appear really seem all that opposed to the situation. The case for Serfdom is pretty strong. 

I would also like to point out that the definition of sentience (the one I found) is "the possession of sensory organs, the ability to feel or perceive, NOT NECESSARILY INCLUDING THE FACULTY OF SELF AWARENESS" (capital for emphasis). You don't need to even be self aware to be sentient, you just need to be aware of your surroundings and senses. This would make most all animals sentient, weather they are self aware or not.

 

I think the cows/sheep have some sort of agreement with the ponies.

 

ps: I do think animals are at least somewhat self aware

Edited February 18, 2016 by El Duderino

[SilverStarApple 849]

The cows might be able to decide if they do or do not like something or somepony, or how something is, but... is that sentience?

[Buck Testa 5,503]

The cows might be able to decide if they do or do not like something or somepony, or how something is, but... is that sentience?

How would you define sentience exactly? We are talking about someone who is self aware, able to make decisions, and communicate just as effectively as anyone else. Where is the line drawn between having the rights of an equal and being classified as an inferior? 

[SilverStarApple 849]

How would you define sentience exactly? We are talking about someone who is self aware, able to make decisions, and communicate just as effectively as anyone else. Where is the line drawn between having the rights of an equal and being classified as an inferior?

This is actually a weird grey area. I'm as unsure as you are. I headcanon it, because otherwise, it means Applejack and hundreds - if not thousands... what IS the population of Equestria, anyway? - of ponies are willingly and knowingly enslaving sentient beings and forcing them to live their lives as subhuman (Subpony?) farm animals.

 

Alternate headcanon: The farm animals willingly choose this, as it means they don't have to work for a living or worry about predators like Wolves or Manticores or Pony Satan.

[Daring_Do 552]

Okay, cows and sheep bother me a bit, but for some reason I'm far more concerned about the pigs.

 

 

And I'm glad you brought that up!

 

What's the point of keeping pigs if pretty much everyone around you is vegetarian? Technically, you could milk them, but that's too much of a bother (especially if there are cows at hand). 

 

So I'm thinking... Maybe ponies DO need meat after all? I mean, ponies keep cats and dogs (and BEARS) as pets and they couldn't possibly feed them oats and carrots, right? PLUS, there are Griffins in Equestria... And even though we've seen Griffins enjoy scones, I highly doubt cookies are their primary source of nutrition. They are supposed to be a lion/eagle mix and that just sounds SUPER CARNIVORE to me. :'D

 

Okay, sorry. I'm wandering off topic. My point is there might be actual slaughterhouses in Equestria. And if there are, then the social status of cows and sheep might be even lower than it seems.

 

Dunno guys, this kinda creeps me out.

Someone asked Faust why Applejack was keeping pigs, and "Surely the ponies aren't carnivores... or are they?"

 

Faust's reply: "They needed a home. Plus--truffles!!"

Pinkie Pie eats hot dogs and quiche. Applejack eats ham sandwiches. Fluttershy catches fish to feed other animals. Nuff said.

 

I guess those other animals are just not smart enough to deal with their captivity.

 

I'm pretty sure the writers eat meat and don't care about the context of what they write in terms of moral veganism. Also Pinkie Pie said ponies are vegetarians and vegetarians are actually very vague on what they consider part of a vegetarian diet. Vegetarians are typically what they are due to health reasons not morals so they do eat meat from time to time. Lot of vegetarians actually consider fish part of a vegetarian diet.

 

Vegans are more likely hung up on morals than vegetarians and do not eat or use any animal byproduct.

Quiche doesn't always have meat - I've eaten vegetable quiche more than once, including at a brunch event that definitely wasn't vegetarian. and we see later in the series that their hot dogs are made from carrots. Also, people who eat fish but not other meat aren't vegetarians: They're pescetarians.

Edited February 19, 2016 by Daring_Do

[Merion 783]

Someone asked Faust why Applejack was keeping pigs, and "Surely the ponies aren't carnivores... or are they?"

 

Faust's reply: "They needed a home. Plus--truffles!!"

 

Oooh, that makes sense!

Honestly, I'm relieved now!

[cider float 2,536]

Someone asked Faust why Applejack was keeping pigs, and "Surely the ponies aren't carnivores... or are they?"

 

Faust's reply: "They needed a home. Plus--truffles!!"

 

Quiche doesn't always have meat - I've eaten vegetable quiche more than once, including at a brunch event that definitely wasn't vegetarian. and we see later in the series that their hot dogs are made from carrots. Also, people who eat fish but not other meat aren't vegetarians: They're pescetarians.

Cartoons don't nitpick these details on a dish. There is sandwiches without meat but in cartoons there's always going to be meat. Quiche is typically eaten with meat in it. What is typical of it is what's going to be in the cartoon. There is a kind of "food normalcy" in cartoons. The writers probably do eat quiche but with meat so that's what's in their mind. 

 

They made it specific those are "carrot dogs." Pinkie Pie said hot dog which will envision the carnival/baseball game hot dog, sausage in a bun. Once again food normalcy, even if there is soy hot dogs in our world in a cartoon by food normalcy they would be sausages made of pork.

Edited February 19, 2016 by cider float

[Daring_Do 552]

Cartoons don't nitpick these details on a dish. There is sandwiches without meat but in cartoons there's always going to be meat. Quiche is typically eaten with meat in it. What is typical of it is what's going to be in the cartoon. There is a kind of "food normalcy" in cartoons. The writers probably do eat quiche but with meat so that's what's in their mind. 

 

They made it specific those are "carrot dogs." Pinkie Pie said hot dog which will envision the carnival/baseball game hot dog, sausage in a bun. Once again food normalcy, even if there is soy hot dogs in our world in a cartoon by food normalcy they would be sausages made of pork.

But is it really typical? Like I said, the brunch wasn't vegetarian - They had bacon and sausages and everything - but the quiche was made with mushrooms or something.

 

(Also, I checked the Rarity Takes Manehattan transcript - Ctrl-F didn't turn up the word "carrot".)

Edited February 19, 2016 by Daring_Do

[Buck Testa 5,503]

This is actually a weird grey area. I'm as unsure as you are. I headcanon it, because otherwise, it means Applejack and hundreds - if not thousands... what IS the population of Equestria, anyway? - of ponies are willingly and knowingly enslaving sentient beings and forcing them to live their lives as subhuman (Subpony?) farm animals.

 

Alternate headcanon: The farm animals willingly choose this, as it means they don't have to work for a living or worry about predators like Wolves or Manticores or Pony Satan.

 

I'm becoming more inclined to buy into the alternate headcanon; Its been postulated that because they don't have the versatility and capability of the Ponies that they willingly chose to be under the ponies rule so they could have protection from the dangers of Equestria. Any sacrifices to their freedom (or even their lives if they do use them in food/products) would be a price to pay for their inability to function independently of the ponies. Its not the prettiest picture ever, but it is an agreement between the "critters" and the ponies, as Applejack would put it. 

 

 

 

Someone asked Faust why Applejack was keeping pigs, and "Surely the ponies aren't carnivores... or are they?" Faust's reply: "They needed a home. Plus--truffles!!"

 

That is certainly a use you could have for the pigs. Also note that Faust didn't say "No they aren't carnivores" she said "they needed a home, plus --- Truffles", those statements aren't necessarily mutually exclusive 

 

But is it really typical? Like I said, the brunch wasn't vegetarian - They had bacon and sausages and everything - but the quiche was made with mushrooms or something.

 

(Also, I checked the Rarity Takes Manehattan transcript - Ctrl-F didn't turn up the word "carrot".)

 

 Very interesting. They do consume animal biproducts, and people assume that they would be vegetarian considering they are ponies, but they aren't your typical ponies and they do have these scenes with meat in them. Which begs the question, are they cooking and eating sentient beings?  

[Swifty 249]

That's what happens if you go to war on Equestria and lose. The yaks would have been the next enslaved race and several centuries later they would be fine with it, because the newer yak generations would have forgotten themselves as free and independant people. Just another broken race which fell victim to the ponies. This is my headcanon from now on.

 

Seriously, i saw them as animals who only speak to each other, but later this cow appeared in the video above and destroyed my headcanon. Now i see it as another case of the writers not thinking things through and so i don't care anymore either.

[Daring_Do 552]

I'm becoming more inclined to buy into the alternate headcanon; Its been postulated that because they don't have the versatility and capability of the Ponies that they willingly chose to be under the ponies rule so they could have protection from the dangers of Equestria. Any sacrifices to their freedom (or even their lives if they do use them in food/products) would be a price to pay for their inability to function independently of the ponies. Its not the prettiest picture ever, but it is an agreement between the "critters" and the ponies, as Applejack would put it. 

 

 

 

 

That is certainly a use you could have for the pigs. Also note that Faust didn't say "No they aren't carnivores" she said "they needed a home, plus --- Truffles", those statements aren't necessarily mutually exclusive 

 

 

 Very interesting. They do consume animal biproducts, and people assume that they would be vegetarian considering they are ponies, but they aren't your typical ponies and they do have these scenes with meat in them. Which begs the question, are they cooking and eating sentient beings?

Ah, sorry, clarifying, I was talking about a brunch I attended irl where we had quiche. Not that there were bacon and sausages on the show.

[Fhaolan 4,468]

Topic unlocked again.

 

Okay guys. A few things:

 

Yes, this is a discussion forum. We are here to discuss things. They may not be things you are interested in, but dismissing the topic of discussion is bad form. If you truly believe that something is not a topic that can be discussed, report it so that Mod staff can take a look and see if something needs to be done about it.

 

Also, do not feed off-topic discussions. It doesn't matter if 'someone is wrong on the Internet', ignore them and continue with the topic on hand. If they continue off-topic-ness, report them and *then* ignore them.

 

Now, as for my on-topic contribution:

 

In the show, we've seen cows entering and leaving stores with hats and the like, just like some ponies. I have vague memories of one in a train car once, but I could be conflating some memories. We've seen goats with what I can only assume to be jobs, and we've seen sheep being *resentful* of being treated like animals.

 

With this in mind, they appear to have the same functional abilities as ponies, but they are definitely treated differently. As if they don't have the same level of agency as ponies. Like they aren't fully trusted to be self-sufficient.

[Buck Testa 5,503]

Ah, sorry, clarifying, I was talking about a brunch I attended irl where we had quiche. Not that there were bacon and sausages on the show.

Well even with that they do seem to eat meat in some capacity, unless they are trying to say these images aren't depicting meat.

Even if its some kind of substitute meat, the very idea that they would eat these kinds of sandwiches denotes the idea that their is "real" versions of them being eaten that they are imitating. There is no need for "hay bacon" to exist for example if Real bacon wasn't something that showed up in Equestria. If "Bacon" wasn't ever an item on the menu, there would be nothing to name "Hay bacon" after. So they either do eat meat that comes from sentient creatures, which further shows how they are lower in social status than other ponies and aren't even considered worth their own life over a meal; Or they are aware of other races that eat these kinds of dishes and like it so much that they emulate it in their own diet with substitute products. Either way, there would certainly be money in the meat industry either be it for ponies or as an export, and they can certainly use those products in things they have in their daily lives like glue and what not.  

 

 

 

In the show, we've seen cows entering and leaving stores with hats and the like, just like some ponies. I have vague memories of one in a train car once, but I could be conflating some memories.

 

We've seen goats with what I can only assume to be jobs, and we've seen sheep being *resentful* of being treated like animals. With this in mind, they appear to have the same functional abilities as ponies, but they are definitely treated differently. As if they don't have the same level of agency as ponies. Like they aren't fully trusted to be self-sufficient.

 

(thanks for the help <3 ) 

So the question is, why and how has this social dynamic come about? The Sheep clearly don't like being herded like "critters", and cows while they seem to have some kind of money (if they are walking out of stores with hats and going on trains that would imply they make some form of currency) their living or at least working conditions are the same as a farm animals. What would their social status be under such circumstances, and how much of that position is their choice? The case could be made that the ponies are more capable at defending them from the dangers of Equestria given their superior physical and magical prowess, but do these powers automatically mean that the Cows and Sheep under their protection are considered lesser beings for it? 

It seems like it. 

The only animal that lives with the same rights as a pony in ponyville, and this is including spike, is the Donkey couple. Even then, there are jokes made about donkeys appearance, Rarity even going on a tangent that being called a mule (an offspring of a Donkey and what I would assume to be a pony in this scenario) is tantamount to being called Ugly. So even with non ponies whom have similar living conditions as the ponies there are undertones of them being inferior that could be seen. 

Edited February 20, 2016 by Buck Testa

[Fhaolan 4,468]

Well even with that they do seem to eat meat in some capacity, unless they are trying to say these images aren't depicting meat.

Just as a note, for information's sake, RL Horses can eat meat. In fact, there's a breed of horses in Tibet that are raised exclusively on meat. Equine digestive systems are a little different from Bovine ones; Equine 'herbivorism' comes from their hindgut ability to process plants material via a fermentation system, so their regular stomach isn't *that* much different from what we have. Not quite as aggressive and efficient at meat protein processing as a carnivore or omnivore, but still technically capable of it. When you come right down to it, Carnivore-Omnivore-Herbivore is more a sliding scale than a set of fixed categories.

 

So the question is, why and how has this social dynamic come about? The Sheep clearly don't like being herded like "critters", and cows while they seem to have some kind of money (if they are walking out of stores with hats and going on trains that would imply they make some form of currency) their living or at least working conditions are the same as a farm animals. What would their social status be under such circumstances, and how much of that position is their choice? The case could be made that the ponies are more capable at defending them from the dangers of Equestria given their superior physical and magical prowess, but do these powers automatically mean that the Cows and Sheep under their protection are considered lesser beings for it? 

It seems like it. 

The only animal that lives with the same rights as a pony in ponyville, and this is including spike, is the Donkey couple. Even then, there are jokes made about donkeys appearance, Rarity even going on a tangent that being called a mule (an offspring of a Donkey and what I would assume to be a pony in this scenario) is tantamount to being called Ugly. So even with non ponies whom have similar living conditions as the ponies there are undertones of them being inferior that could be seen.

There is something odd about the whole thing. Especially when you bring in Zecora and the gryphons. It's especially interesting to see how Gilda was treated.

 

If I was to speculate about pony culture, I would say that what we are seeing is the effect of an unfortunately homogeneous society. It's likely if we spent more time in Cloudsdale we'd see similar attitudes towards Unicorns and Earth Ponies, because Cloudsdale is a naturally enforced Winged-only sub-society. Gilda, for example, apparently was a full part of Cloudsdale society, to the point of belonging to the Pegasis-equivalent of the Scouts or maybe more appropriately Air Cadets, despite being originally from Griffonstone (I think. The Griffonstone episode was extremely vague about its political relationship to Equestria.) But non-Cloudsdale ponies had much the same attitude towards her as they did towards the Donkeys.

 

Because the average pony has little to no exposure to other people like Donkeys, Zebras, Cows, etc. (they seem to vastly out-populate the other species) and they are technically a herd-based prey species rather than a predatory one, they seem to naturally fall into 'us vs them' isolationism and accentuated 'fight/flight' based panic reactions. Things that many individuals are actively trying to overcome, but might not even be recognized by society as a whole as being wrong.

[Vixor 80]

Yes, this is a discussion forum. We are here to discuss things. They may not be things you are interested in, but dismissing the topic of discussion is bad form. If you truly believe that something is not a topic that can be discussed, report it so that Mod staff can take a look and see if something needs to be done about it.

 

Maybe it shouldn't be used to shut down discussions, but "it's a children's cartoon" IS a valid concern often enough, especially in cases like this, and one worth keeping in mind, if just to reel in the more radically unreasonable theories like the whole slavery thing and make sure people don't take them so seriously and such. Discussion is fine, but being able to take a step back for perspective and all those other nice things is important, and keeping in mind just what the source material is helps with that.

 

 

There is something odd about the whole thing. Especially when you bring in Zecora and the gryphons. It's especially interesting to see how Gilda was treated.

 

If I was to speculate about pony culture, I would say that what we are seeing is the effect of an unfortunately homogeneous society. It's likely if we spent more time in Cloudsdale we'd see similar attitudes towards Unicorns and Earth Ponies, because Cloudsdale is a naturally enforced Winged-only sub-society. Gilda, for example, apparently was a full part of Cloudsdale society, to the point of belonging to the Pegasis-equivalent of the Scouts or maybe more appropriately Air Cadets, despite being originally from Griffonstone (I think. The Griffonstone episode was extremely vague about its political relationship to Equestria.) But non-Cloudsdale ponies had much the same attitude towards her as they did towards the Donkeys.

 

Because the average pony has little to no exposure to other people like Donkeys, Zebras, Cows, etc. (they seem to vastly out-populate the other species) and they are technically a herd-based prey species rather than a predatory one, they seem to naturally fall into 'us vs them' isolationism and accentuated 'fight/flight' based panic reactions. Things that many individuals are actively trying to overcome, but might not even be recognized by society as a whole as being wrong.

 

The only reason the ponies were afraid of Zecora is because she was from the Everfree forest. The ponies of Ponyville seem spooked in general by it, and some unknown, cloaked figure appearing from within probably seemed suspicious to many of them. Once it was revealed that she wasn't in fact an "evil enchantress", but a friend, it's been made clear that she's treated equally. And I find it odd you'd mention Gilda, considering despite her less than pleasant attitude at the time, the ponies were overall quite friendly/welcoming, and even threw her a party. Even Iron Will seemed fairly well received.

 

I don't find the idea of Equestria's modern society being racist/speciest to have much merit or evidence, especially after they went through their medieval-like era and learned valuable lessons about avoiding those attitudes. Places like Cloudsdale are difficult to access for non pegasus-ponies, but if they did go there with say, a cloud walking spell, I'm pretty sure they'd be welcomed just as well. The only part of pony society that seems to have any sort of aversion to outsiders so to speak is maybe some of the nobles in Canterlot, and while they don't discriminate based on race or any of that jazz, they do seem to have their own culture of "dress posh and act posher" and perhaps are sometimes dismissive about others outside of that culture. We've seen that not all of them are like that, it's just an attitude many of them seem to have, or at least many of the ones we've seen. And as far as donkey's go, I'm pretty sure that's just a rather bad running gag, rather than anything approaching a serious article of worldbuilding. Cows and sheep too, could be seen as a cartoon gag sort of thing, albeit an especially poorly thought out one, and I'm still sticking strongly with my assertions that slavery/segregation and all those other bad things are impossible, and are completely incompatible with Equestria's society, but I've already ranted on why that's the case, so continuing...

 

And maybe I'm misinterpreting, but your last paragraph seems like it might be trying to include the implication that you think the ponies society is somehow based on that of real horses, which just isn't the case. One immediately obvious and very big difference is that they're primarily monogamous, and while I don't think poly would be unaccepted or anything, I'd expect it to be pretty uncommon, like here. A comparison between MLP ponies and the horses in our world is just a non-starter, there are no similarities other than both technically being classed as equine (and even then, the physical anatomy is significantly different), and their society and behavior is certainly not based on that of real horses, which is a good thing, because real world horses are wild animals without morals and like many other wild animals, a good number of the things they do are quite unpleasant, to put it mildly. I don't really intend to go into a huge discussion about this stuff in particular since I'm tired and such, but eh.

 

Anyway, I don't think the ponies discriminate against or exclude other species, but as you said, there doesn't seem to be that many of some of the other species around, as evidenced by them not knowing what a zebra was when they first saw Zecora, as well as Pinkie not knowing what a griffon was either (Pinkie tho...). When we do see them, it's pretty clear the ponies are perfectly friendly/welcoming and such. And ultimately, the show provides limited exposure to many of the other species we've seen. Anyway, I'm tired/sleepy, so I'm ending the post here, I suppose.

Edited February 20, 2016 by Vixor

[Buck Testa 5,503]

 

 

Just as a note, for information's sake, RL Horses can eat meat. In fact, there's a breed of horses in Tibet that are raised exclusively on meat. Equine digestive systems are a little different from Bovine ones; Equine 'herbivorism' comes from their hindgut ability to process plants material via a fermentation system, so their regular stomach isn't *that* much different from what we have. Not quite as aggressive and efficient at meat protein processing as a carnivore or omnivore, but still technically capable of it. When you come right down to it, Carnivore-Omnivore-Herbivore is more a sliding scale than a set of fixed categories.

 

Pony digestion in this show seems pretty amazing considering they are even able to eat rocks and ridiculous amounts of sweets without much in the way of adverse heath effects, a point that could facilitate an entire thread in and of itself. However with meat and the nature of the discussion, the conclusion can be made that there is some kind of meat and meat bi-product trade in equestria and it might involve the use of sentient self aware creatures. Add in the uncomfortable undertones of speciesism and the use of sentient beings like farm animals,  the ethical implications alone would be enough to spawn some pretty interesting dark fics if nothing else. I doubt the show would ever explore such ideas given its rating, but it's fascinating to think about all the same given there seems to be so much evidence supporting it. The fact that such a theory could hold this much water despite the shows age rating is pretty fascinating for me. 

[cider float 2,536]

Their social status: cattle. Really nothing more to discuss. I suppose the Yaks and Buffaloes were strong and intelligent enough not to be reined into pony servitude.

[Goat-kun 2,503]

Ha-ha, the meat-eating horses! You can find them in mythology, tale, and in reality of old expeditions made into harsh environments (see Siberian and Manchurian horses in South Pole expeditions). It would seem that it is completely normal for equines to consume flesh, just don’t let the word reach them soccer moms and fanfic writers.

 

As for the non-pones, I’d say that the hoofed ones live in a kind of symbiosis with the ponies. They are not the brightest beans in the pot, or at least this is how I see them depicted in the show. However, one could easily look at this from a more sinister perspective, or one that is more pragmatic. Ponies have this nice 1984 thing going on with their habitat and all its animal residents, and everything is sunshine and rainbows as is befitting of a family friendly show. Attention to detail is brushed off as unnecessary since all we care about, or should care about, are pony characters. The other animals, albeit sentient, are there only to illustrate a familiar environment to young viewers and should be regarded as props (and anyone who disagrees is apparently a stinky dirty overanalyzing poopoo head).

 

He-he, I wonder if Larson would be so keen about letting the fanfic flow on this one.

[Blackshirt Brony 415]

Sheep, like unicorns or the pegasus race, have unique talents which are better suited to certain tasks than others. The sheep understand that their use for the industrial production of Equestria is no different than the natural role of the alicorn as royalty. A sheep cannot pragmatically perform Applejack's job because it is the sheep itself which carries the wool, not the pony.

 

The sheep play the role of "slave labor" because that is what sheep do.¹ Sheep are naturally herd animals, and in Equestria they contribute to the labor force by living out their natural roles in society. So fencing them all in one place is only to Applejack's convenience... We have have to assume that a large herd of sentient mammals could escape a small open enclosure if they wanted to, so their eagerness not to do so is then evidence that Equestria's system has all the social classes in Harmony. The same logic applies to the cows.

 

Just as Starlight Glimmer confused and oppressed her followers by distracting them from their individual destinies, so a stock of "rebellious sheep" would throw the whole sheep identity out of harmony. But when all the workers of Equestria understand their innate ability, then the classes may be united for the sake of national interest.

 

1. Even in real life credulous or mindless people are sometimes referred to as "sheep."

[cider float 2,536]

If they use human tools, they would use human methods of acquiring nutrition.