Key Takeaways:
- Horse cloning costs $85,000. This price covers the entire process for one healthy vet-inspected foal. The total amount may be subject to state sales tax, however.
- The cloning cost is paid in two equal installments.
- Genetic preservation (collecting and cryopreserving a tissue sample) costs $1,600, and storing the cells costs $150 per year. This is a more cost-effective way to secure DNA that can be used for cloning in the future.
- Extra fees may apply for certain steps. Costs such as biopsy kits, cell storage, express tissue banking, or the international shipping of tissue/cells may be necessary depending on how you want to go forward with the cloning process.
It currently costs $85,000 at Viagen Pets to produce a foal genetically identical to your existing horse. We require two equal installments: a 50% deposit upfront, and the remaining total when your foal is delivered.
This price is all-inclusive and covers every aspect of the process. Including:
- Professional veterinary care and embryo transfer, including creating an embryo genetically identical to your horse and transferring it to a surrogate mare.
- Specialist care for the recipient mare throughout pregnancy until the foal is born.
- Post-delivery health checks and DNA verification. Your foal will be inspected by a veterinarian and genetically verified by a third-party laboratory.
In this article, I’m going to cover in detail all the questions our team regularly gets on the topic of how much it costs to clone a horse.
So let’s get started.
Table of Contents:
- How much to clone a horse
- Additional & unexpected fees
- Costs if your horse clone fails
- Payment plans & financing options
- Other steps you can take right now
- What’s included in the cost
Are there any additional or unexpected fees I might have to pay?
There may be additional costs around the cloning process, depending on your circumstances.
However, there are steps on the way to cloning that do have their own extra fees. Here is a quick table detailing the prices. I’ll talk more about each additional step and why they’re important below:
| Potential additional prices: | Context: | Cost (U.S. dollars): |
|---|---|---|
| Genetic Preservation | Your vet collects a tissue sample, and we grow and cryopreserve the cells so your horse’s DNA can be used for cloning whenever you decide. | $1,600 one-off payment |
| Genetic Preservation cell-storage costs | After the cells are cultured, they are stored in liquid nitrogen. These annual fees will accrue while you wait to clone your horse, but are credited towards the total cloning cost when you do move forward with it. | $150 annually, beginning on the anniversary of the Effective Date |
| Express tissue banking |
This is a lower-cost alternative to genetic preservation, where the biopsy tissue is cryopreserved without confirming the viability of the cells. Cloning isn’t guaranteed, but it does preserve DNA at a lower cost. |
$500 |
| Shipment of cells to the U.S. (if based in UK or Europe) | International clients may need to arrange shipment of tissue or cells to ViaGen’s U.S. laboratory. | Varies depending on shipping arrangements |
| State sales tax | This varies by U.S. state. | Some states charge no tax; others levy sales tax on veterinary services. |
If the process of cloning my horse fails, will I have to pay for another clone?
No. If we are unable to achieve a successful cloned birth using a viable genetic sample, your cloning deposit will be fully refunded.
In short, if you’re thinking, “How much is it to clone a horse if the initial clone fails?” The answer is: you won’t be charged the remaining balance if a cloned foal cannot be successfully delivered, and your cloning deposit will be refunded.
Genetic preservation and cell storage are separate services and are not included in this refund.
Do you offer payment plans or financing options to help with the costs of cloning a horse?
No. We do not offer in-house financing. But it’s important to remember that you won’t pay the full amount until we have successfully delivered a healthy foal.
Horse cloning costs are paid in two equal installments: a 50 % deposit when you sign the cloning agreement and the remaining 50 % when your cloned foal is safely delivered. This payment structure ensures that you don’t pay the full amount until ViaGen has successfully delivered a healthy foal.
What can I do if I’m not ready to pay for the cost of horse cloning just yet?
Because the whole process of cloning a horse is a significant investment, we understand that some owners may not be ready to commit immediately. If that’s the case, then there are three decisions you can take now that will allow you to preserve your horse’s genetic material now and decide later:
| Decision: | Context: | Cost (U.S. dollars): |
|---|---|---|
| Genetic preservation |
This process involves culturing cells and storing them in multiple locations. This option is the most effective step you can take here and now to one day produce a successful future clone of your horse. |
$1,600 plus $150 annual storage fee |
| Express tissue banking | Cryopreserving a small biopsy without culturing cells. This is less expensive but does not guarantee viable cells for cloning. | $500 |
Our Straightforward 6-Step horse cloning process:
We’ve covered ‘How much does it cost to clone a horse?’ Now, let me touch on the actual, all-inclusive process of cloning your horse. Here’s what you can expect to happen:
- You collect your horse’s cells/DNA with your vet: We will work with your veterinarian to collect a tissue sample from your horse.
- We grow your horse’s cells: ViaGen’s laboratory cultures the cells from your sample.
- DNA transfer: our scientists remove the nucleus from a donor egg and replace it with the genetic material from your horse.
- Embryo development: The reconstructed egg then develops into an embryo.
- Implantation: Your cloned embryo is then implanted into a recipient mare.
- Pregnancy & delivery: The mare carries the pregnancy to term and delivers your cloned foal. After birth, the foal is cared for until it is old enough to travel and is genetically verified by an accredited third party.
Visit our horse / equine cloning services page for more details on this process.
Conclusion: So, how much does it cost to clone your horse?
In summary, the actual process and total cost of cloning a horse at Viagen Pets is $85,000. Additional expenses such as biopsy kits, express tissue banking, international shipping and state sales tax may apply, but there are no hidden fees during the cloning procedure itself.
By choosing ViaGen, you’ll be partnering with a company that has produced more successful horse clones than any other provider. If you’re ready to reproduce an elite genotype or preserve a beloved companion, equine cloning offers a precise way to continue your horse’s legacy.
We offer the most advanced and trusted horse cloning service in the world, and we’ve cloned more animals than any other company on Earth.
Take the first step today and guarantee your horse’s legacy with Viagen equine cloning services. Talk to our expert team today.
- Read more: How Mary Walker loved her horse so much, she cloned it twice.
- Read about how we created the first-ever clone and second-clone of the critically endangered Przewalski’s horse.
- …and how we created a second clone using cryopreserved tissue that was harvested and stored at San Diego Zoo in 1980.
- Read our more generalised guide ‘How much does it cost to clone a pet?’ here.
