Cloning Conundrum
March 5, 2009
Cloning: It’s a word that invokes deep emotions in almost everyone.
It was inevitable that AQHA would one day have to tackle the subject.
At the 2009 AQHA Convention, which begins Friday in San Antonio, a forum will take place to address equine cloning. Even if you’re not going to be at convention, if you’re an AQHA member, you can still watch the event online at 2 p.m. CST Friday. Just log into a live Webcast at www.aqhamembers.com, using your personal identification number and pin.
Within the past few years, a number of horses have been cloned, including well-known American Quarter Horses Smart Little Lena and Royal Blue Boon. However, under Rule 227(a) of the AQHA rulebook, Quarter Horses produced by any cloning process are not eligible for registration. This rule became effective in 2004.
At AQHA’s 2008 convention, a proposal to change Rule 227 (a) was presented to the AQHA Stud Book & Registration Committee. That proposal allowed a live foal produced via a particular type of cloning to be registered if its DNA matched that of a registered Quarter Horse. At that time, the stud book committee recommended that any decision regarding the proposed change be postponed pending further study.
In fall 2008, representatives from Colorado State University, Texas A&M University and ViaGen, a commercial cloning company, met with the stud book committee in Amarillo to discuss equine cloning.
If you would like to read more about equine cloning, you can read a story published in the February issue of The American Quarter Horse Journal.
Confirmed forum panelists for Friday’s forum include Katrin Hinrichs, a veterinarian involved in equine cloning at Texas A&M University; Sharon Spier, an epidemiologist at the University of California-Davis; George Seidel, a professor specializing in biomedical sciences at Colorado State University; and Blake Russell of ViaGen.
Following the forum, AQHA members will have the opportunity to leave online comments on the information presented. Comments will be limited to 100 words and need to be related to the topics presented during the forum.
Check back Monday in Quarter Chat to read some of the posted comments as well as find out what was said at the forum.
I’m Tonya Ratliff-Garrison, but you can just call me Tonya.
It’s shorter and easier. Someday I’ll have to explain why I decided to hyphenate my last name and how it has been a pain ever since.
I’m a field editor for The American Quarter Horse Journal and I’ve been at AQHA almost five years. But like you, I’m an AQHA member and have been since 1991. I own five Quarter Horses that I mostly never have enough time to ride (I hope that’s going to change soon, though).
This is my first entry for Quarter Chat, which I hope will be an outlet to highlight happenings at AQHA and the horse world as well as letting you know what I and other AQHA employees see and hear when we’re out in the field.
But for Quarter Chat, I need to hear from you. Send me your ideas, stories, jokes, complaints (please keep those to a minimum), compliments (no limit on those) or just a note to say hello.
So, don’t be a stranger. Drop me an email anytime at tonyag@aqha.org.
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Comments
12 Comments on “Cloning Conundrum”
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March 5th, 2009 at 11:26 pm
I don’t think cloned horses should be registered, cloning is wrong.
March 7th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Having been a member for over 35 years I’ve seen many rule changes….most of which have been influenced by those with “the money”. The application to register cloned horses is just another example of “money talking”. Please stop and use some common sense. When a mare has healthy, identical foals they ultimately develop into two different horses…..this is nature’s way of telling us not to mess with cloning. Don’t legitimize cloning by approving registration in AQHA.
Ardith
March 15th, 2009 at 11:41 am
Carol Harris, featured speaker regarding the cloning issue, accurately predicted, about 25 years ago, the current problem with our gene pool. Shipped semen and AI would severely shrink the gene pool as breeders chose to breed the same bloodlines, in greater numbers, afforded by shipped semen and artificial insemination. The thoroughbred industry has successfully fought Artificial Insemination supporters and has maintained a much healthier gene pool. AQHA on the other hand has always caved to money interests and now look at our leading sires lists. The stallions are all by the same stallion. The Halter sires ALL cross to Impressive6-8 times. This is ridiculous and not only ridiculous, a new member is going to assume that this type of bloodline is acceptable! Lets face it, most stallion owners and mare owners are not interested in the genetic ramifications of irresponsible breeding, so breed organizations MUST ESTABLISH SOME TYPE OF CONTROL. It is for the long term health of the breed organization and what is best “as a whole.” Let’s get serious, what purpose does cloning really serve to a breed registry that should be accommodating the average members. Just look at the sad state of affairs today in the show ring. Trust me , the “experts” have almost destroyed this organization! New participation is not going to happen until AQHA proves through new leadership and restructuring, that the status quo is changing. I know they won’t get my money until things change! To be honest, if there were another breed organization to register and show my stock horses, I would go that way and leave AQHA to it’s stagnant leadership. As long as the Executive Committee is beholden to the wealthy, the rest of us will just have to follow the piper and sing their tune.
March 22nd, 2009 at 4:28 pm
I AM definatley not sure cloning should be allowed, as I agree with alot of what Ralph has to say. HOWEVER, IF cloning is allowed, I DO NOT think those horses should be allowed to show, they should be limited breeding stock only. I also think it should OLNY be allowed for stallions who have been gelded,(or on the off-chance a spayed mare) therefore were denied the chance to be bred. NOT SO YOU CAN HAVE TEN MORE INVITAION ONLY’s, however great he is. For example, (I have hunters)take GEM TWIST. He was a registered TB Gelding who won 2 Olympic Silver Medals, & he was gelded as a yearling before his true potential was realized. He was a correct, sound, well-mannered (for a jumper) horse. He was a horse who was exactly the kind of horse one should be striving for, however , in the Hunter & Jumper world, most colts are simply routinely gelded. He would obviously add something to the gene pool that would otherwise be lost. His line (Bonne Niut- a well-proven jumping/not-racing line) is getting scarce in TBs. This would be one of the few cases for cloning…not so we could have more line-bred Impressives & (now as we are sadly starting to see) line-bred Zippo Pine Bars. Anyone interested in the genetic divisity of AQHA pleasure horses, should look at a sire-line chart. Instead of TB-style divergance from the 1st or 2nd “big three”, it narrows. In pleasure horses these days 90% go back to the “big 2″ Three Bars- Zippo Pat Bar/ Hotrodders Jet Set & Top Deck- Barpasser. The only top 50 NSBA leading sires in the past ten years not out of one of the 2 list sire-lines listed above are Don’t Skip Cahrlie/Charlie Hilfiger/Selection So Simple which is Skipper W based & TNT Fluid Fred which is Docs Bo Acres back to Joe Reed. Kinda Scary!
April 4th, 2009 at 9:29 am
Please, AQHA… say “No!” to cloning! If people want to clone, fine– but they can ride in non-breed shows or competitions. There is a misconception that a cloned horse will be identical to the original– yet clones do not always look alike, and certainly do not act alike. There are so many great registered horses in the world, there is no reason to bottle-neck the gene pool by allowing clones. It just doesn’t make any sense. AQHA needs to take a stand for those of us who don’t have the big-money horses, but have a great AQHA horse. I rarely meet a quarter horse I don’t like. What does it say to the mass of members if AQHA accepts clones into the registry? Isn’t it saying that this is as good as it gets? We cannot improve our breeding, so we have to start copying it?! That isn’t the case, but that is the message it would send.
April 6th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
I for one don’t believe in *cloning*. Those that are wanting to do any cloning….they are playing GOD. God’s way of *cloning* is when there are a set of twins. All good things must come to an end……as painful as it may be. How would those folks like it if their parents or grandparents or even them their selve were cloned. I for one would’nt want another *me* runnin around. Nor would I want another set of my parents or grandparents running around. I love each & everyone of them…but like I said….all good things must come to an end.
I also agree with *SunnyDays*
April 24th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
I received my latest copy of America’s Horse Magazine today April 24th. In it was an article on Cloning. I am totally against cloning and registering or showing cloned horses. Yes,we all have a favorite horse we would llike to have cloned. However the clone is nver the same as the original no matter how genetically correct the clone might be. There are lots of unanswered consequences to this. I had a wonderful gelding that has been gone for any years. I would love to have one like him but an exact replica would not be the same. The cost of cloning alone should put the average horse owner ofF. It is especially unwise in today’s economic climate when most people struggle to feed their famillies,pets and horses. Expense is why I can no longer have a horse.
May 3rd, 2009 at 6:05 pm
On tonight’s 5:00 o’clock news they showed some abandoned horses on a road either in Arizona or New Mexico. Also shown were some people who rescue horses such as these. Then right after on our local news horses were shown that had been rescued from an owner that had abused them. This is becoming more common as overbreeding and the downturn in the economy progress.
This why again I say cloning should not be allowed anytime. A special horse should be a one of a kind model. Mine were just that, very special one of a kind models.
May 9th, 2009 at 10:18 pm
Hi I have a horse that I would clone if I could afford to his mom and dad have passed away so he is genetically not replaceable I could not afford @ the time he was a baby to have him trained and shown in the NCHA futurity. He is phenomenal thou(with no training @ all he can cut circles around most horses all natural his foals are the same not to mention how gentle his babies are with no handling @ all) poor people have a hard time proving how great a horse is and by the time people are realizing how great a horse is its to late the horse is to old. If I had the money which I dont I would clone him even if AQHA did not recognize him I would DNA Reg. him . The NCHA allow clones to be shown.
P.S. I never thought I would be OK with cloning but I am.
I have also used frozen semen If you cant beat them join them.
February 7th, 2010 at 5:49 pm
I’m not against cloning excatly. I think its wrong to want a clone simply because you want a replica of the horse you once had. Clones are like identical twins their genes may be identical but their personalities are different. I think if you clone a horse because you want to continue a bloodline and the donor horse can’t reproduce for what ever reason, its ok. I also think its ok if clones compete because there’s no assurance that they’ll be good or bad, you just never know.
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