Ruffian/Barbaro

Question
I watched,in horror on the day the Great Ruffian broke down.  Barbaro's injury created the same heartbreaking response.  I am so thankful that tody's equine medicine has advanced so as to give Barbaro a much better chance of survival.  My question: I know it is possible to clone a horse.  Might it be possible to salvage some of Barbaro's DNA?  Should he not survive, it might be a great opportunity to save "something" of this magnificent creature.  Also, might there be some way to still do the same with DNA from any of Ruffian's remains? Since her blood-line is now unavailable to the racing world,(other tragedy connected to her Dam and Sire), this might be a way to "bring her back. Any thoughts on this?

Answer
It is truly a blessing that veterinary science has progressed to the point that it allows us to have a much better chance of saving horses that wouldn抰 have any chance at all just a few years ago.  But unfortunately we still have a long way to go.  
I personally don抰 feel that cloning is the answer to this particular problem, though.
First of all, you cannot clone a Thoroughbred.  At least, the resulting foal couldn抰 be registered as a Thoroughbred.  The Jockey Club restricts Thoroughbred breeding to live cover only.  With good reason, in my opinion.  Would Barbaro really be as special as he is, if there were 10,000 more of him running around?  I also don抰 think that cloning Ruffian, or Barbaro, or Secretariat, or any other great horse would result in an exact duplicate of that horse.  A huge part of a horse抯 ability comes from their 揾eart? or their personality, which wouldn抰 be the same in any two horses, regardless of their origins.  
All of us, horses included, have our very own personalities and quirks, and no two are exactly the same, regardless of origin.  Cloning would result in two distinct individuals, just like two identical twins.  Part of the magic of horseracing and breeding is watching each baby develop and blossom into a unique personality.  I feel that a clone would just be a reminder of the greatness that we lost, and one that would never be treasured for his/her own self.
That said, I seriously doubt that after all this time has passed, anything is still salvageable of Ruffian抯 DNA anyway.  

Stephanie Frost
www.alchemybloodstock.com