Mouse, was born May 5, 2010. The efforts of his owner, Kit Knotts, to find a horse that had the same qualities as her prized Lippizaner stallion Marc, (Pluto III Marcells) led her to Texas A&M University and equine reproduction expert Dr Katrin Hinrichs.
"We have worked on this clone for about two years," said Hinrichs, a professor in the Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology. "This is actually our first foal produced using oocytes, or egg cells, from live mares." She explains that using oocytes from live mares made the process difficult as they had very few oocytes to work with at any one time.
Minnie, the surrogate mare, began to show signs of an early delivery, and was taken to the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine for observation and intervention. That’s where Mouse arrived and was cared for by a team of neonatal experts that helped make sure he would make it through this critical time.
Because of the risk of complications and problems in the period just after birth, Dr Hinrichs’ team recommends that foals derived by cloning should be treated as high-risk neonates, and their birth should be closely supervised. Facilities for intensive care should be available in case they are needed.
To read more about the problems faced by cloned foals go to www.equinescienceupdate.co.uk/clone3.htm
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