I lived with a hockey player who played in an under-18 tournament in Slovakia I think, can't remember where exactly, and they served them mincemeat at the hotel restaurant. They liked it but found out later it was horse and stopped eating it. Seems like horse would be more expensive, not cheaper, so I'm not sure if they were told the truth. Supposedly horse isn't bad for you as long as the meat is fresh, not taken off the carcass of some decaying work animal. Not that different from moose or venison.
I can't believe he expects people to believe he didn't take steroids. Horse meat? Sounds so disgusting.
For the record, you can't find horse meat in every grocery store in Canada. That's outrageous. I've never seen it in Ontario or Quebec, and if everyone is eating it, it's a big secret. I don't know anyone who has and I've never heard anybody talk about it. Not that I'm saying it's such a bad thing, or anything.