Genetically engineered ‘super-horses’ to be born in 2019 and could soon compete in Olympics, by Sarah Knapton.

Genetically engineered horses designed to be faster, stronger and better jumpers will be born in 2019 after a breakthrough by the same laboratory which clones polo ponies.

Scientists in Argentina successfully used a powerful DNA editing technique called Crispr to rewrite the genomes of cloned horses.

Healthy embryos were produced following the procedure, which the researchers plan to implant into a surrogate mother within two years.

The team focused on boosting the myostatin gene sequence which is crucial to muscle development, endurance and speed.

Theoretically, animals designed in such a way should be able to run faster, for longer, and jump higher more easily.