The Ethics of Polo Horse Cloning: How Cloned Horses Could Change the Game

Polo has always been called the "Sport of kings". Now it might become the "Sport of clones".

In 2016, Adolfo Cambiaso rode six horses in the Argentine Open final that were genetic copies of one legendary mare, Cuartetera. It was a remarkable sight — and one that raised an uncomfortable question: if you can clone a champion, should you?

It All Began With the Loss of a Champion

Cambiaso's champion polo horse Aiken Cura suffered a serious leg injury during the 2006 Palermo final and was put down in early 2007. Before his death, however, skin cells were collected and frozen.

That decision eventually led to one of polo's first successful horse cloning projects. Cambiaso later partnered with businessman Alan Meeker and Argentine entrepreneur Ernesto Gutiérrez, turning cloning into a business and using the technology on Cuartetera.

The results were impressive. One Cuartetera clone sold for $800,000 in 2010. More importantly, polo ponies cloning gave Cambiaso access to the genetics of a proven champion long after the original horse's competitive career ended.

How Cloning Could Change Polo

Cloning cannot bring a horse's prime back to life. A clone is a new animal, shaped by its own environment, training and experiences. But it gives breeders another chance to work with the genetics of an exceptional horse.

That is already changing elite polo. Instead of relying on one extraordinary horse, players can build a string of horses descended from the same proven genetics.

Is Horse Welfare at Risk?

The biggest problem is what happens behind the scenes.

A 2018 review in Equine Veterinary Education concluded that health and welfare concerns make equine cloning ethically problematic. Cloning can involve pregnancy and birth complications, and some cloned foals require intensive veterinary care.

But the science is not completely one-sided. Researchers have also found that some welfare problems seen in cloned livestock appear less significant in horses. More research is needed before the risks can be fully understood.

That leaves a difficult ethical question: is creating an elite athlete for human entertainment worth the potential risks of cloning?

What Does the FEI Say About Cloned Horses?

The FEI originally banned cloned horses from international competition in 2007 because of fair-play concerns. In 2012, it reversed that decision and allowed clones and their offspring to compete.

The FEI argued that identical genetics do not guarantee identical performance. Training, nutrition, environment and the relationship between horse and rider all matter.

Do Cloned Horses Have a Future in Competitions?

Polo has already shown that cloned horses can compete at the highest level. The next frontier could be gene editing, which would allow scientists to change genes rather than simply copy them.

Polo horse cloning has already forced polo to ask whether copying a champion is ethical. Gene editing could make that question even harder: what happens when we stop copying great horses and start trying to improve them?