I love my mare. Love her with all my heart. She is aging, and I wish I had found her when she was young. But, she came into my life at her age for a reason. Wishing for a different path just cheats me of the joy I get from being with her. So, no, I wouldn’t clone her. Because her clone wouldn’t be… her.
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I think I would use the money to clone myself! 
Only a younger me could deal with a younger version of my horse!
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You know, despite Niko being the best horse in the world… I’m going to say no.
He’s the best horse in the world because of all the experiences we went through together while I was young and immortal. Experiences I would certainly not have the cajones to repeat.
He however has serious arthritic changes which have been not-so-easy to manage. I don’t want to relive that.
If the question was - “if you could transplant a horse brain into a 5 year old sound animal” it would be a resounding yes. But just the shell of him? No.
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I lost my first old mare that way. It was horrific. And I would clone her. I used to joke that she went to catholic school. If you told her “BAD” she practically cried. I got her when she was 18 months old and had her for almost 30 years.
No one ever fell off Honey. She would be great for my grandchildren.
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In a heartbeat, I’d clone every horse I ever had with maybe the exception of one who had bad genes that resulted in crippling lameness.
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I have said how much I wish I could’ve found my current horse when he was younger. He didn’t have an education and definitely has some stories about his past I wish he could tell. But he’s a saint, and shaping up to be a decent dressage horse and can now get me over a small course very well.
He’s 17, and at 17.2 and a draft x, I know he won’t likely be able to remain in work for too many more years. It breaks my heart. I already wish I had more time with him.
Like others said, “oh if only I could’ve started with my horse earlier!” Genetics are only part of the equation, and I recognize it just wouldn’t be the same.
My childhood pony…I just wish I could have his brain. We always placed last in halter classes, but could win the jumpers and trail classes all day long cause he was that smart.
I know a couple who are actively cloning their dog. 50k, the surrogate mother will be implanted with 8 embryos. However many pups survive to term is how many they get. Now…what the heck does someone do with 8, or even 4 cloned puppies? Of course I asked. They’re answer led me to believe the balance of pups would be culled. It wasn’t clear and I didn’t ask further.
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I should have been clearer in my original post - personal use, not multiples of a single horse, not sales prospects is what I had in mind.
My trainer and I used to joke about how much we’d love to have my TB from unstarted and control his upbringing. He’s fabulously talented, and mega athletic, with incredible uphill balance. But mentally, and with early racing hoof care, he has some issues.
The more we talked about it, the more seriously we discussed that his lack of mental resilience meant even with control, if anything went wrong ever, he was going to have “issues” so we wouldn’t want to bring a clone into the world.
My palomino quarter horse would be a fun one, or my current younger mare. I want to breed her, though, and try to improve upon her…but even a clone of her would make me elated.
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No, I wouldn’t clone any of my past horses. I’m reminded of f this episode of This American Life: family cloned a bull they were very fond of. Clone was a completely different temperament. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/291/reunited-and-it-feels-so-good/act-two-6
I don’t know if that’s common, but it’s what I think of when considering animal cloning.
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That’s a tough question. My horse is from very old Swedish lines and I love that about him for his uniqueness and for his sheer hardiness. He’s put together well, has great feet, and overall, a pretty good temperament, though he can be challenging at times. I do love the way he bonds with his people, although he’s not necessarily the snuggliest horse in the world. However, I’m not sure how some of that would have been different if I’d have just done certain things differently with his training. I think that if money were no object, then sure, I might be willing to try, knowing that it isn’t really the same horse and it could still be very different from my boy, the same way he is different temperamentally from his three full-siblings.
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If I had the money I’d clone my current horse in a heartbeat.
He’s now into his senior years, but he has been impeccably sound for his entire life, even with pretty hard use – as in worked daily in performance events from the time he was 2, barefoot, never lame, zero maintenance until he passed 20 years old.
He has an absolutely unbeatable temperament – intelligent, willing, easy-going and excellent conformation.
He has proven himself with an excellent show record in multiple events over years of showing.
I understand the concept of breeding moving forward, but frankly I’m not sure that we’ve improved on my horse. Maybe the competition horses are more specialized and talented in one specific event, but they sure aren’t sounder. I personally think we need more like the one standing in my barn right now, and they’re so hard to find.
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I’d heard this story also. Not only was the clone dangerous, the people IMO were not very bright as in the guy kept going back for more.
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Hey I might clone myself if I could have my 20 year old body back. You know - 20 year old reflexes, 20 year old balance, 20 year old core strength. I don’t think they have figured out how to do this yet.
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But it wouldn’t be you. Cloning is a way to create an embryo with identical DNA. You’d get a baby genetically identical to you from a surrogate mother, and not epigenetically identical. But you wouldn’t inhabit her body. She’d just be a surrogate baby to raise.
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No I don’t want any babies. I would just want her body. I don’t think there is any legal, moral or ethical way to get her body.
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This is sort of the premise of the John Scalzi book Old Man’s War. The trade-off for getting their young (genetically engineered/enhanced) bodies was enlisting to fight aliens. Probably you don’t want that part…
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I would definitely consider it. My old gal has one of the most screwed on heads I’ve ever encountered on a horse. She likes to go, but is otherwise the safest, most solid, reliable horse there ever was. She is nothing fancy…but who needs fancy when you can trust them with your life! Given I know she had a rough early life, I can only assume she just is that way. I actually regret not getting a foal from her when she was younger. I know it’s never a guarantee that the foal/clone comes out mentally similar…but as she’s now in her twenties and I’m face with the realistic possibility that she might go downhill at any given time…what I would give for another like her! I also would love to know how she might have turned out had I had her from a foal.
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Have you ever seen the movie “Get Out”? Hmmmmmmmm.
Probably not even genetically identical. Those pesky crossover events and other mutations.
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In the fun spirit of this thread, if “forced to”, I’d clone my last mare. I’ve long said I wish she was a Phoenix that would burn up at 20 and re-emerge at 3. She is just the greatest.
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