Three years after the birth of the first cloned mule and horse, scientists are reporting improvements in the number of viable cloned equine embryos that are carried to term. A Texas A&M University (TAMU) researcher says that five clones of cutting horse champion stallion Smart Little Lena are on the ground and thriving, along with a clone of a second donor horse. Two more clones from a third donor were expected to arrive in May. These births and pregnancies represent a staggering success rate because historically, it has taken many more cloned embryos to produce a live foal.

Katrin Hinrichs, DVM, PhD, professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology in TAMU’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Science, reported TAMU’s first successful cloning ventures in spring 2005. Paris Texas, a clone of European show jumper Quidam de Revel, was born on March 13, 2005. Another clone of an unspecified sport horse was born at TAMU later in the year, but his owners did not wish to identify the animal. It had taken 11 cloned embryos for the 2005 births–six in the Paris Texas project and five in the research that produced the unnamed clone.

The five Smart Little Lena foals were born in February and March 2006 as a result of a research agreement between TAMU and the stud’s syndicate manager, Bill Freeman  (TAMU does not hold a license or patent to clone commercially). Any foals born as a result of the project would go to the owners