No Horsemeat In This Household: Epona is One of Us

I adore Katie's and my early-morning conversations when we're both still semi-asleep.  Here's what we talked about first thing this morning:

Katie, petting our dog Sawyer in bed: "Mom, I'm sure glad we don't eat dogs."
Me: "Yeah me too.  But you know, some people in other cultures throughout the world think eating dogs is just fine."
Katie: "Yuck!  I would not like to eat fur!"
Me: "Me either.  But I think they peel the fur off first to get to the meat, just like we don't eat the feathers on a chicken.  We eat their muscles."
Katie: "Oh.  I still would not eat dogs."
Me: "Me either.  But some people in the world think it's disgusting to eat cows and pigs."
Katie: "I like pigs!"
Me: "Yeah, me too.  But some people can't imagine ever eating pig meat."
Katie: "Oh."
Me: "And some people in the world think it's just fine to eat horses."
Katie: "I would not eat a horse.  Especially not our relative horses like Epona!"

I had to work late last night, so I got home after Katie had gone to bed, but I suspect she and her daddy were up late playing Zelda again.  Katie has created a world of Zelda inside her head where all the characters, including the equine characters, are part of our family.  As a former vegetarian and a current flexitarian, I have ambivalent feelings toward meat-eating in general, but I want Katie to come to terms with meat-eating or not-meat-eating herself without blindly following my lead.  It's nice to know my child, on her own, draws the line at eating family members.