First two commercially cloned horses in Texas
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. Two clones of the famous mare Bet Yer Blue Boons are expected to be born any day. Including the foals announced today, seven clones of famous horses will be born this year. Many other pregnant ViaGen/Encore mares are due next year. The companies have also gene banked over 75 champion horses from multiple breeds and disciplines.
The companies have sold horse clones worldwide. Several have been sold in Europe through one of Encore’s marketing partners – a French company named Cryozootech.
Cloning is actually a simple process. The clone is produced by first taking a small tissue biopsy from the animal to be reproduced. This sample is shipped to ViaGen’s lab where cells are grown in culture. Then, through a process called Nuclear Transfer, DNA from the donor’s cells is transferred into enucleated oocytes (eggs from which the genetic material has been removed). The new embryos are grown in an incubator for several days and then transferred to recipient females as with traditional embryo transfer. After a normal gestation period, the cloned foals are born.
With Royal Blue Boon Too, ViaGen and Encore Genetics, have partnered to preserve some of the greatest genetics in cutting horse history. Royal Blue Boon, the donor mare, is the all-time leading producer of cutting horses in the world with personal lifetime earnings of $381,764 and produce earnings of well over $2.5 million dollars. It is this unique value of the mare that identified this registered American Quarter Horse as a specimen worthy of preservation. At 26, the old mare is seeing the end of her long and prosperous career and her reproductive days are well behind her. With that fact in mind, the owner of Royal Blue Boon made the decision to clone her cutting horse champion.
“This animal has created a legacy in the cutting arena that is unmatched by any other mare, and I simply could not imagine not being able to continue to breed this fine animal and improve the genetics of future generations of cutting horses,” says Elaine Hall of Weatherford, Texas, the owner of Royal Blue Boon and Royal Blue Boon Too.
Mrs. Hall and her husband Larry created a legacy in the sport of cutting, first with Royal Blue Boon and later with the mare’s own son, Peptoboonsmal by Peppy San Badger, the 1995 National Cutting Horse Association Futurity Open Champion, and an all-time leading cutting horse sire. Through the continued performance of her progeny, Royal Blue Boon proved her genetic value to Mrs. Hall.