Seeing Double

In the thoroughbred world, the cloning issue is a non issue. Simply put, a foal must be produced by a live mating between live horses. Not so in many of the other domains across the equine world, where horses may be bred by artificial insemination, opening the door to the creation of clones.

Needless to say, this has ignited a fierce debate among various factions of horse owners. On one side are breeders like Carol Harris, who doesn't oppose cloning in the name of scientific research but does not think that cloned horses should be permitted to compete in sanctioned events. "Breeding is an art," she told the Inquirer. "Cloning is just replication."

On the other are members of the biotechnical companies (of course) as well as some vets who defend cloning as a useful and potentially powerful research tool. ViaGen is one of the leaders in the creation of live clones and has successfully produced clones of a barrel racing champion (Scamper), a show jumper (Gem Twist), a bucking legend (Go Wild) and champion cutting horses. They offer no guarantee that the horse they clone will be a champion.

As to whether or not a clone is an actual duplication of another animal, well the jury is still out. In the old nature vs. nurture debate, it is one thing to duplicate an animals genetic makeup but it is quite another to replicate the exact environment in which the original was raised.

For the time being, the Jockey Club is not budging nor is the American Quarter Horse Association, which recently voted down a proposal that would allow for the registration of clones. The market for clones, at least for the time being, seems to be those owners of beloved animals who cannot abide the thought of living on this earth without some representation of the original.