http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/arti...in_page_id=1811

"The world's first cloned horse has given birth to a foal.

Prometea, cloned in 2003 by Italian professor Cesare Galli, gave birth to Pegasus six weeks ago, the geneticist said.

Professor Galli said that both mare and foal were doing well and added that he planned to create other cloned horses for reproduction.

Speaking from his research institute at Cremona he said: "The foal is called Pegasus. He was born over a month ago and is growing well. "Prometea is also healthy and is showing no difficulties." Pegasus was born on March 17 naturally and with no problems after being conceived by artificial insemination, a common practice among horsebreeders.

Pegasus's father, Abendfurst, is also a Haflinger breed like Prometea.

Prof. Galli said he hoped the birth would ease concerns about the health of cloned animals, sparked by the short lifespan of Dolly the sheep, who died at the age of six.

He added: "Since she was born five years ago, Prometea has turned out to be an absolutely normal animal in excellent health.

"This birth will allay concerns that have always surrounded Prometea, like other clones, and is the final proof of her normality.

"Pegasus shows that cloned animals can grow normally and reproduce in a natural fashion". Prometea's own birth was extraordinary not only because it was the first time a horse had been cloned but also because it was the first time a mammal had given birth to its own clone and exact DNA copy.

Prometea was created using a skin cell ."

Great. Another cloned animal.

It's all about money .

I thought clones were infertile or something, or am I thinking of hybrid animals like Ligers? I guess they can have kids after all then.

i thought hybrids can't .

Yeah, I was just wondering if the same goes for clones.

I still maintain that if clonign can help to save species it should be used, but surely they wouldn't allow a cloned horse to race competitively? Not if it has come from lines that give it an unfair advantage?

I know a race horse can be worth millions ..

Obviously, the whole thing is motivated by money, but it will be fascinating to see if the clones have the same racing statistics as their parent.

One more piece of evidence in the famous "nature vs. nurture" debate. It's only a matter of time before we dig Beethoven, Einstein, etc. up and clone them.