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Rahodeb

Rahodeb

Los Angeles, CA
March 2006

MAR 31, 2006 12:53 PM

A horse is a horse, of course, of course. No, really—a horse is an exact genetic replica of itself, and it's yours if you want it (and can pay the princess price). Whoa, Nelly: an American company called ViaGen, which offers reproductive technologies such as animal cloning, has successfully created the first commercially produced clone of a mare. The world's first and second horse clones were born in Italy in 2003 and 2005, respectively.

Cloning is actually a simple process. The clone is produced by first taking a small tissue biopsy from the animal to be reproduced. This sample is shipped to ViaGen’s lab where cells are grown in culture. Then, through a process called Nuclear Transfer, DNA from the donor’s cells is transferred into enucleated oocytes (eggs from which the genetic material has been removed). The new embryos are grown in an incubator for several days and then transferred to recipient females as with traditional embryo transfer. After a normal gestation period, the cloned foals are born.



ViaGen is partnering with equine marketing firm Encore Genetics to create the first commercial horse cloning operation in the country. My question is this: Will the phrase "Clone of a mare" replace the old standard, "Son of a bitch"?

LokisChild

LokisChild

USA
March 2005

MAR 31, 2006 01:10 PM

creepy. this might also be trouble for horse racing.
EL SUICIDO LOCO

James_

James_

United Kingdom
March 2003

MAR 31, 2006 01:19 PM

Why would you need to clone a horse when any farmer with two can give you as many as you want for a fraction of the cost?
surreal

[Edited on Mar 31, 2006 by James_]

Salem

Salem

SUICIDEGIRL

USA

MAR 31, 2006 01:34 PM

surreal surreal

so horses are going to take all of us over?

FrankMask

FrankMask

Saint Paul, MN
June 2003

MAR 31, 2006 02:45 PM

James_ said:
Why would you need to clone a horse when any farmer with two can give you as many as you want for a fraction of the cost?
surreal

[Edited on Mar 31, 2006 by James_]



See previous comment regarding racehorses. Why screw around with the uncertainties of breeding when you can just reproduce a champion endlessly?

Moonrabbit

Moonrabbit

Vancouver, BC
February 2005

MAR 31, 2006 03:17 PM

Ummm.. I know it's been a few years. But last I heard the cloning process wasn't simple.
There were hundreds of deformed or still born failiures before before they got that freaking sheep cloned properly.

Drusylla

Drusylla

Mesa, AZ
May 2005

MAR 31, 2006 03:36 PM

And here I thought the article was going to be about My Little Ponies tongue

Telltale

Telltale

USA
May 2004

MAR 31, 2006 05:05 PM

I think the question here is, if an older horse is cloned, will its DNA still be viable? I'm sure as age goes by the DNA is going to corrode a bit.

What I'm getting at is, do you think horses with genetic defects will come with warranties?

ThrottleBitch

ThrottleBitch

Emeryville, CA
November 2005

MAR 31, 2006 05:12 PM

LokisChild said:
creepy. this might also be trouble for horse racing.
EL SUICIDO LOCO



Nope, the Jockey Club and various others have already said that they are unwilling to register cloned horses. The horses that are being cloned are from western style cutting horses.

Keith

Keith

Hooker, OK
August 2002

MAR 31, 2006 05:22 PM

The problem is that clones aren't... well... clones. They're not necessarily (or even likely to be) identical to their parent.

LokisChild

LokisChild

USA
March 2005

APR 01, 2006 09:28 AM

Jaxtrble said:

LokisChild said:
creepy. this might also be trouble for horse racing.
EL SUICIDO LOCO



Nope, the Jockey Club and various others have already said that they are unwilling to register cloned horses. The horses that are being cloned are from western style cutting horses.



alright. so rodeo horses are all going to be clones now?
EL SUICIDO LOCO

Iggy

Iggy

SUICIDEGIRL

Alabama, USA

APR 01, 2006 12:42 PM

wow cloning could totally ruin equine sports....people with money are going to forget about breeding and concentrate on cloning another secreteriat or seattle slew...if DNA from either of those horses still existed anyway....

ThrottleBitch

ThrottleBitch

Emeryville, CA
November 2005

APR 01, 2006 12:47 PM

LokisChild said:

Jaxtrble said:

LokisChild said:
creepy. this might also be trouble for horse racing.
EL SUICIDO LOCO



Nope, the Jockey Club and various others have already said that they are unwilling to register cloned horses. The horses that are being cloned are from western style cutting horses.



alright. so rodeo horses are all going to be clones now?
EL SUICIDO LOCO



Not at a price tag of $150,000 for the first clone (price goes down for multiples).

ThrottleBitch

ThrottleBitch

Emeryville, CA
November 2005

APR 01, 2006 01:03 PM

There are 19 surrogate mare that have been impregnated with the clones. The clones will be observed and compared to the originals to see how well they learn behaviors. Most horse breeders will tell you that many young horses seem to have a 'memory' for the behaviors that their parents learned which is augmented by the foals' environment and training. One of the goals of the cloning is to quantify this supposition (and make lots of money, since the horses cloned have all been serious money makers).

MarlaMay

MarlaMay

Columbia, MO
September 2005

APR 01, 2006 03:15 PM

i love My Little Pony ...& i got all excited with the title of this article frown biggrin

ninjatoes

ninjatoes

Newport, KY
August 2005

APR 01, 2006 08:44 PM

Drusylla said:
And here I thought the article was going to be about My Little Ponies tongue



Me too. I like to comb their pretty manes.

MessyJessy

MessyJessy

Fort Myers, FL
August 2005

APR 01, 2006 08:50 PM



ooooh...my plan is nearly complete. i have now found the perfect vehicles for me and my...Mini Me...bwahahahah bwaahhahahahah bwahahahaaha

Drusylla

Drusylla

Mesa, AZ
May 2005

APR 01, 2006 09:01 PM

artgrrl said:

Drusylla said:
And here I thought the article was going to be about My Little Ponies tongue



Me too. I like to comb their pretty manes.



Let's get together for a My Little Pony Beauty Salon! I'll bring the hair spray biggrin

Quirky

Quirky

Birmingham, AL
October 2005

APR 01, 2006 09:02 PM

I bow to our new equine masters.

Cain

Cain

SUICIDEGIRL

Iceland

APR 01, 2006 09:14 PM

hmm...i thought this was going to be about my little pony. ya know, hasbro and shit. bummer.

Julian_Delphinki

Julian_Delphinki

Tijeras, NM
June 2005

APR 02, 2006 03:01 AM

Hheheheheh . . . Commercial aminals off the shelf whatever

TheFuckOffKid

TheFuckOffKid

NEWSWIRE

Australia

APR 02, 2006 04:22 AM

Salem said:
surreal surreal

so horses are going to take all of us over?


Horse overlords, I for one salute etc.