The controversy over cloning is about to get bigger: Australia's incredible Thoroughbred racehorse Black Caviar has been cloned. The mare is widely regarded as being one of today's top Thoroughbred racehorses.

The Retnup Stem Cell Foundation has verified that one of Black Caviar's eggs has been successfully cloned and transferred to a surrogate mare who will carry the egg to term. The foal will essentially be Black Caviar's twin, and will share the champion mare's DNA.

Whether the foal will ever be able to race is undecided; Australian racing authorities state that cloning a Thoroughbred racehorse breaks racing rules. Other famous horses have been successfully cloned, including show jumper Gem Twist, barrel racer Scamper, and performance horse Smart Little Lena.

Black Caviar raced from 2008 to 2013 and was undefeated in her 25 races. She retired on April 17, 2013 and is currently in foal to Exceed and Excel. Her career earnings total $7,953,936, a sign of the possible value of another racehorse of her caliber.

The responsibilities of Connecticut horse owners were significantly changed on Wednesday, thanks to a ruling by the Connecticut Supreme Court. The Court ruled that the horse is “a species naturally inclined to do mischief or be vicious.” Supreme Court members deemed that horses are naturally inclined to bite.

The court ruled that owners have “a duty to take reasonable steps to prevent the animal from causing injuries that are foreseeable because the animal belongs to a class of animals that is naturally inclined to cause such injuries.” This ruling means that owners can be held liable if a horse causes an injury that the owner hasn’t taken preemptive steps to prevent. While liability insurance is available to individual horse owners, the horse’s being deemed an animal "naturally inclined to do mischief or be vicious" could result in their becoming uninsurable.

The ruling was prompted by an incident in 2006 when a boy was bitten by a horse he was trying to pet on a farm in Milford, Connecticut. The responsibilities of the horse's owner were called into question - if a horse is naturally prone to bite or be vicious, should the horse have been muzzled or kept in an area where people could not easily access him? 

We all know that some horses are more mischievous than others, and some horses may be more prone to bite or kick than others. But ruling that all horses are naturally vicious is an extreme step, and one that could have significant implications for horse owners down the road.

Just a few short weeks after his wife, Silva Martin, suffered a head injury during a riding accident, Boyd Martin has broken his leg while competing at the Carolina International. Boyd was mounted on green horse Steady Eddie when Eddie ducked out of a fence at the last minute, leaving Boyd's leg to collide with the fence. Boyd seems in good spirits as he describes the incident on his blog. Wishing both Boyd and Silva fast and complete recoveries.

The 2014 Road to the Horse competition is officially under way. Trainers Jim Anderson (of Canada), Antoine Cloux (of Switzerland), Dan Steers (of Australia), and Jonathan Field (of Canada) began the four-day challenge on Thursday. Participants in the Road to the Horse choose an unbroken horse and train it, over the course of four days, in front of an audience. Trainers and horses then display what they’ve learned in a judged challenge during the last day in which they must navigate a series of obstacles.

Designed to demonstrate the gentler and more positive methods to training horses, the competition has run since 2003 and has attracted renowned trainers including Stacy Westfall, Tommy Garland, and John Lyons. Guy McLean won last year’s Road to the Horse challenge, ultimately riding his horse bridleless during the last portion of his final judged run. Watch his winning ride below. 

Good news continues to come from Delray Beach, Florida, where Silva Martin has been hospitalized following a fall while teaching a lesson on March 5th. She is now beginning rehabilitation in the form of speech, physical, and occupational therapy.

Boyd Martin writes on his blog that once Silva is well enough to travel, she will be transferred to the Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation Hospital in Pennsylvania, where she will continue with her rehabilitation.

Silva's accident left her initially unconscious, but Boyd assures fans that Silva is mentally 100% and that her physical recovery continues to improve. We all look forward to seeing her back in the saddle again.