Previous discussion that explains this pretty well. 
eh I see where youâre coming from but on the other hand why should the other horse industries have to pick up the slack because the racing industry doesnât have a use for most of their athletes after the age of 3 or 4.
Donât get me wrong, I quite like racing, and Iâve met a few ottbâs that Iâve liked, but they arenât purpose bred for what many people want to do.
Itâs similar with dogs too. Iâve got a dog thatâs a good house dog, but sheâs a jack of all trades, master of none. I took her as she was being rehomed and donât get me wrong, I love her, but sheâs limited in the dog sports that sheâll ever be successful at. You wouldnât expect a duck hunter to take a retired grey hound just because theyâre âout thereâ.
Personally I donât think I have an issue with cloning. To me itâs not that different from breeding the same mare to the same stallion over and over again, but with less physical variability. I prefer this over the people who breed anything that moves. I agree that it could be an advantage in that you know the horse will be physically a success, but I wouldnât say itâs an unfair advantage since clones still have their own personalities. Not to mention the Nature vs Nurture debate.
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Looking at the Great Big Picture, it is probably a much better approach in terms of ecological cost. Think of all the resources NOT consumed to create/raise/train enough horses to produce the ones that are eventually successful - either as race horses or polo ponies.
If cloning polo ponies makes us think harder about WHY there are so many perfectly good TBs that end up in slaughter, maybe that is a good thing. Not trying to be argumentative or divert the thread, just find it all very thought provoking.
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Yes I can agree with both those posts. It still strikes a nerve horses are being clonedâŠwhen there are so many out there needing homes.
I donât blame him for cloning his best mare (BTW it is often mares that are such good polo ponies). He has known proven genetics that he can tap into. Cloning is for a specific purpose here. High level polo not to win races for a year or two. I wondered if he was breeding any of the clones.
Khall, heâs doing embryo transplants from cloned mares, and selling them for up to $70,000 each.
Sorry but I think it is super unethical. Cloning in general and breeding to them even more so. Of you want to clone your favorite horse whatever but mandatory sterilization should be required. No thanks not interested in any of that and that man should be ashamed that he has created how manyâŠ
Thanks, Leather. Interesting.
The same reason identical twins donât look âidenticalâ. The same DNA (genes) can be expressed slightly differently. THis old thread has more info: https://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/forum/discussion-forums/sport-horse-breeding/224757-why-do-clones-have-different-markings
and we hear from the local PETA rep.
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As a mother of identical twins, there is no such thing as an exactly identical twin or clone. I see proof of it every day. As soon as the embyro begins development, the phenotype can vary due to the intrauterine environment, even in the same mother carrying both embryos at the same time. In the case of the clone, itâs even more different because itâs not even the same mother carrying the embryo to term.
It appears some scientists think identical twins/triplets etc. are closer to identical genetically than a clone would be. This is because a clone is created using a somatic cell, which has accumulated various genetic mutations over time, where as twins come from the same gamete/germ cells before they divide.
My twin girls have different finger prints, hair whorls on their head, and even a slightly different hair color. Their voices are a little different and their personalities are very different. One twin has two birth birthmarks, the other twin has no birthmarks.
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Boy youâre running up a flagpole in your thinking if you think cloning is as bad, or the same, as indiscriminate backyard breeding or race breeding.
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Sorry, I donât get the logic. You sound like the adopt donât shop crowd. The clones arenât going to slaughter. It would make a lot more sense to stop breeding the OTTBs that get tossed away.
That being said I love OTTBs.
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Related and in my mind entertaining convo on cloning
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How is it unethical?
Cloning is just another reproductive tool.
Is ICSI unethical? How about embryo transfer? Or AI? Or any selective breeding in general?
Is it unethical if I spend millions purchasing the foal by the best stallion out of the best mare to compete? Or facilitate such a breeding myself?
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I didnât understand that they are breeding the clones. They are cloning the clones. I am not sure what I think about it. Are they going to end up with mutants? Freaks? Or super bred horses for a certain purpose?
Every time you step foot in the produce section of the grocery store, you are surrounded by âclones.â Many of our key agricultural crops have been propagated from tissue cultures since the 1980s. The âcloning of clonesâ has been in our lives for a long time.
My only true concern is the loss of genetic diversity. Why bother creating your own unknown commodity through traditional breeding when you can purchase a clone of a champion? Breeding âthe best to the bestâ already shrinks the gene pool; if cloning were ever to become the norm, then potentially, all that will be left are the genes of the select âbestâ horses in their respective fields. Of course, that is probably an unsubstantiated Orwellian fear.
The gq article I posted on the other thread on this topic does address the instances of âfailed clonesâ. Itâs a fascinating topic, regardless of oneâs stance. Iâm sure there are many articles given the successes they are seeing in multiple disciplines.
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Well I stand on that side of the fence too. And never say never, some really nice expensive horses have ended up on the slaughter bus.
