The Horse Clonerers

Chuck Zimmerman

Royal Blue Boon & CloneIf you’re not “horsey” then you might not have heard about the fact that a couple of horses were cloned recently and seem to be doing very well. They’re the result of a collaborative effort between Viagen, Inc. and Encore Genetics.

“The legendary cutting horse Royal Blue Boon, a registered American Quarter Horse, became the first mare to be commercially cloned when a foal was born to a recipient mare on Royal Vista Southwest farms in Purcell, Okla., on Feb. 19, 2006. The foal was born healthy and continues to thrive on the farm where she was born. She was joined soon after by a clone of the mare Tap O Lena, born at the same farm on March 9, 2006.

You can watch a video of the Royal Blue Boon meeting her clone here: Watch Video Clone Video (13 min wmv) There are a number of additional clones to be born still this year.

Agribusiness, Video