The mule Idaho Gem (born May 4, 2003) is the first cloned

equine Equinae is a subfamily of the family Equidae, which have lived worldwide (except Indonesia and Australia) from the Hemingfordian stage of the Early Miocene (16 million years ago) onwards. They are thought to be a monophyletic grouping.B. J. Ma ...

and first cloned mule. He is the result of the collaboration of Dr.

Gordon Woods Gordon Woods (July 14, 1952 – August 20, 2009) was an American veterinary scientist who co-created Idaho Gem, the world's first cloned mule. Idaho Gem was the first clone born in the horse family. Early life Woods was raised in northern Idaho ...

and Dr.

Dirk Vanderwall A dirk is a long bladed thrusting dagger.Chisholm, Hugh (ed.), ''Dagger'', The Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed., Vol. VII, New York, NY: Cambridge University Press (1910), p. 729 Historically, it gained its name from the Highland Dirk (Scot ...

of the Northwest Equine Reproduction Laboratory at the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The Universit ...

and Dr. Ken White of

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah ...

. Two more healthy mule clones were born in succeeding months as a result of Project Idaho, Utah Pioneer on June 9, and Idaho Star on July 27. The project was largely financed by Post Falls, Idaho, businessman Don Jacklin, who also served as president of the

American Mule Racing Association American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

. Idaho Gem and Idaho Star were transported to trainers in 2005 to prepare them for racing in 2006. Idaho Gem and Idaho Star both won their first races on June 3, 2006, separate trial races for the Humboldt Futurity during the Winnemucca, Nev., Mule Races, Show and Draft Horse Challenge, June 3 and 4. In the June 4 futurity, Idaho Gem finished third and Idaho Star finished seventh. Idaho Gem won his next race at the San Joaquin Fair in Stockton, June 21. His time of 20.724 seconds over the 350-yard course was the fastest time by a 3-year-old mule through the end of July, the halfway point in the mule racing season. Idaho Gem also collected two seconds in photo finishes with the racing mule Out of My League. The total margin of victory between the two mules in the two races was .043 seconds. Through his first six races, Idaho Gem collected two firsts, two seconds a third and a fourth. On June 4, 2006, Idaho Gem finished 3rd in the

Winnemucca Mule Race Winnemucca Mule Races, Show and Draft Horse Challenge is held at Winnemucca, Nevada, each spring and serves as the first leg of the American Mule Racing Association's triple crown. On June 3 and 4, 2006, the race became the first known athletic ev ...

. This was the first competition between cloned and natural-born mules. , Idaho Gem was owned by Jacklin, who was preparing to have him trained for gymkhana events. The mule was reported to be in good health.

References

External links

*Richard Black
Cloning first for horse family
''BBC News'', May 29, 2003 {{University of Idaho 2003 animal births Cloned animals University of Idaho Individual mules