On February 19, the American Quarter Horse Royal Blue Boon became the first horse to be commercially cloned in the U.S. when a foal was born to a recipient mare on Royal Vista Southwest farms in Purcell, Oklahoma. On March 9, a clone of the mare Tap O Lena was born at the same farm. According to a press release received by AQHA, the foals were born healthy and continue to thrive at the farm.
Under AQHA’s Rule 227(a), which became effective in 2004, clones are not eligible for registration with the Association. Rule 227(a) was proposed and passed by AQHA’s membership after it became generally known that researchers were seeking to clone higher mammals.
The clones of Royal Blue Boon, owned by Larry Hall Cutting Horses, of Weatherford, Texas, and Tap O Lena, owned by Philip E. Rapp also of Weatherford, are products of a partnership between Austin, Texas-based ViaGen Inc., a provider of livestock genetic technologies, including cloning, and Encore Genetics, a performance-horse marketing group based in Weatherford. According to the ViaGen release, foals from other donors (or cell lines) are due this year.
Although AQHA rules provide for a democratic process for changing existing rules, no change to Rule 227(a) has been proposed. Nevertheless, over the past couple of years, AQHA staff members have been collecting information regarding cloning developments. For informational purposes, AQHA has periodically distributed such material to its Stud Book and Registration Committee, which initially reviews registration issues.
“AQHA members are sensitive to their fundamental responsibilities for the welfare and integrity of the breed in the long term,” said Gary Griffith AQHA Executive Director of Registration. “We do not know how this emerging technology will affect the breed, and we will continue to study it. We must bear in mind that decisions made today could have unanticipated effects on the breed many years down the road.”
Articles on cloning as it relates to the American Quarter Horse will periodically be published in upcoming issues of the Association’s publications.
