The highest body of equestrian sports, the Federation Equestre Internationale, is just a little obsessed with where horse babies come from. And not without reason — have you seen the prices for champion horse sperm these days? (Man, you know this is a phrase that has actually come out of Mitt Romney’s mouth. And we used to think arugula was elitist.)
In the past, the best way to propagate and improve a horse’s line was the old-fashioned artificial insemination route. That’s expensive, and not a little messy, and it doesn’t work for champion horses that are also geldings (i.e., neutered). But now a few horse owners have had their champions cloned.
The FEI at first dismissed these freaks of nature, but now it’s welcoming them into the fold, or at least “will not forbid participation of clones or their progenies in FEI competitions.” These rules apply to the Olympics, too, which means that cloned horse babies could compete one day. It’s unlikely that that day will be this summer, but four years from now, expect some perfect specimens of horsehood.
If you’re wondering about the price of cloned horse, though, well, it’s steep — $150,000 for a 60-day-old foal. That’s still in the Romney household budget, though, we bet.
