Why are horse-radishes called that, when they have nothing to do with horses?


Answers:
it has been speculated that the word is a partial translation of the German nae for it " Meerrettich".The German word for Moraviia where the plant is grown is pronounced like the English word "Mare" as in horse this may be a mistranslation. Many English plant names have the word "Horse" as an element denoting Strong or coarse. Unfortunately this is inconclusive There is no substantive proof of the German origin though it is feasible
Have you ever seen one? Lets just say that the root looks like a certain part of horse anatomy.yeah.that.
bean sprouts look nothing like sprouts, chick peas have nothing in common with chicks, cauliflowers look nothing like flowers. i could go on all day. get over it.
cause the english language is messed up like that.

plus.. have you ever tasted a horse??
Taken verbatim from the website listed below.

"As for the condiment's distinctive name, there are at least two possibilities. "Radish" comes from "radix," the Latin word for "root." The "horse" part may have been tacked on to distinguish it from the edible radish and to convey the size and coarseness of the root, as was done for other herbs such as horse mint and horse chestnut. Alternatively, it may have originally been named "harsh radish" due to its bitter flavor."
The popular English name, Horseradish, means a coarse radish, to distinguish it from the edible radish, the prefix 'Horse' being often used.Still doesn't really answer a good question?
i am completely guessing.. maybe horses will eat anything. and like those things are soo nasty they won't eat em'.
maybe the person who discovered them,found out that they were part of horses diets. or simply horses enjoy horse-radishes.
Many English plant names have "horse" as an element denoting strong or coarse.
In this case 'horse' is used as in older English to denote 'common / basic' etc. So its nothing to do with horses as such. This is the same usage as with 'horse chesnut', a common nut which cannot be eaten.