Equine cloning,,,Opinions ?????

[mart]

Ok I just read the post about the AQHA Equine cloning seminar March 6th !! I am sure going to try to get in on that one !! My opinion is that cloning the AQHA champions would move the average competitor to the very bottom regardless of the quality of horse he has !! Up to now it has been pretty much a fair game in cutting, reining or whatever the discipline !! You are classed according to age of the horse !! Each has a fair opportunity to win depending on all the variables !! (sometimes the horse just has a bad day) But if those same competitors were faced with known champion clones, they might as well hang it up !! Currently there are 75 clones due this year and most are in Texas !! Im A Streakin Doc is one being cloned in Weatherford, Tx (info from another forum so don`t know how correct) !! There are few really great horses but if you knew ahead of time that you had to compete against one, and you knew what the original horse accomplished, would you want to go against one identical to him?? It seems totally unfair to the average competitor who may not have the kind of money these farms have !!
Whats everyone elses take on this ????

[BUDDYSGIRL]

I agree Mart, it's looking like they will someday have a whole new set of rules or compititions for clones and non clones. I don't like it, any of it, one bit. To me, it's just leading the way for everyone to just accept cloning and after awhile it will become the norn...

[evelynwolfe]

I agree that it would be unfair. But let's also look at the training that each horse has had. Just because they have the genetics does not mean that the training has been up to par.

[proudmomma]

I don't know Mart. There is a lot more going on than genetics. I read where they cloned several mules from a racing champion. Only one of those clones is showing any potential and it isn't near what the original mule was. Sometimes, it's all about heart, and training too.

[mart]

While I agree that training has a large hand in how well the horse does clone or not !! But lets face it,, if they can afford the stud fee for a champion plus the fees for the cloning process,,(not cheap I imagine) wouldnt it stand to reason that the trainer would also be one of the best ?? All I am talking about is keeping the events equal for the big time trainers as well as the average joe !! If I had a horse that was a good cutter I would sure think twice before I entered against another High Brow Cat !!
I mean the clones are already predisposed to be winners by genetics !! Would you spend your money to compete against them ????

[Candice_17]

Ok, I gotta get a little biblical here, sorry... If you believe what the churches say and I believe about cloning is that they lack the true "being". They exist but are incomplete. They have no soul. Man can simulate life, but only God can truely "create life". So, if a horse (or any other animal or being) is cloned from the best of the best, who's to say that will be enough.... Don't you think that their heart and soul has something to do with they're performance? After all that is what will give them the drive to go on when it hurts or when it gets a little rough....

Ok, off my pulpit, but I'm just trying to say that just because they may clone a horse such as "High Brow Cat" and the clone will be genetically and identically the same, is the real High Brow Cat solely genetics? Isn't there some added edge that gives the truely great performance horses they're greatness?

And no, I certainly wouldn't want to compete against a HBC clone!!!! That is a lot of money to waste and it is or could be incredibly unfair.

[4jpainthorses]

We have a horse in cutting training and I don't know that I would want peppy competing against a HBC clone but then again it sure would say something for my horse if she can beat that clone. What made HBC so great was his heart and I don't believe that the clones will have the same heart and want to as the original.

[mart]

Thats the whole point about the clones !! Is it fair to the average competitor who may not have all the advantages (monetarily speaking) that the big time breeders do !! Even though he puts his heart and soul into training a horse and the horse is as good as others in that catagory !! And if all things are equal, his horse has just as good a chance at winning as the others !! It just seems that allowing a clone in that same competition would be giving an unfair advantage !!

[BUDDYSGIRL]

Originally Posted by BUDDYSGIRL

I agree Mart, it's looking like they will someday have a whole new set of rules or compititions for clones and non clones. I don't like it, any of it, one bit. To me, it's just leading the way for everyone to just accept cloning and after awhile it will become the norn...

Does seem like this is the way it's going to go

[Cuttin74]

I am completely against cloning for profit.
If you lost your loved pet and have the money, go ahead.
But keep in mind you can never replace anyone. They are all unique and trying to replace that always ends up bad for both animal and owner.
Appreciate the gift you had and the fact that you had one at all and move on.
Respectfully,MO