Twins?

[karenkarenn]

Hello,
Has anyone out there had their mare carry and deliver twins?
What was the preg term like?
Karen

[docjocoy]

Hope you are not asking for your own mare. Isn't she the one in foal to Stormy Jack? You don't want to foal twins. There are posters on here way more informed and expert than I am on this subject, but twins can be fatal for both mom and babies.

[pfrsue]

Twins are exceedingly bad news as horses as a species are not designed to carry them. It's very important to have a recently bred mare ultrasounded while there's still time to 'pinch' one off if twinning has occurred.

Delivery is often extremely rough for the mare. More often than not at least one foal, usually the tiniest, will end up being lost and you can expect any survivors to be small and to have problems. (Not always the case, but expect it anyway.) There simply isn't enough nutrient transfer during gestation to support two foals effectively.

[Bondama]

We had a set of twins last year out of an appendix mare by a QH stud. They were 340 days to the day. Both born alive, a grulla colt and a palomino filly. The colt was about normal size, but the filly was tiny, maybe 30 pounds wet. Neither could stand and nurse, so we milked the mare and bottle fed them both for 3 days, til the colt began having seizures, and we asked the vet to put him down. The filly, while small, was thriving. She drank her bottles heartily and when we would stand her up, she would actively participate. You could tell she wanted to survive. By the 5th day, we could get her to stand on her crooked little fetlocks, but she wasn't tall enough to nurse. By the 7th day, she could take a few steps. And so it progressed until at about 2 and a half weeks, she could reach to nurse, and did so. More often than not, mom would squirt milk all over the filly's face and neck, which was funny to see! (See photo)

About that time, too, she began standing without assistance, and walking about unaided, too. We kept mom and filly confined to a small area, maybe 20 x 25. Over the next few months, the baby's legs straightened, she came up off her fetlocks and onto her hooves, she began to trot and cavort. (See 2nd photo) She had gained quite a bit of weight. At about 4 months of age, we gave them a small paddock to themselves, and the rest was history. The vet was completely astonished. He did not expect this filly to make it. We named her Saving Grace and called her Gracie. She is now almost a year and a half old, in an APHA show home and actively showing, and not doing badly. She is not as tall as she might have been had she not been a twin, but she is perfectly formed and beautifully colored, has the sweetest spirit, and will be tall enough to be still considered "normal". To date, she has not given evidence of any health issues.

It is an unusual ending to the story of twins, however. Rarely does one live, even rarer still do both live. It's hard on the mama because there's really just enough room inside there for one. Ultrasounding is highly recommended.


[img][img]http://inlinethumb43.webshots.com/40746/2527863170085531741S425x425Q85.jpg[/img][/img]

[/img][img]

[/img][img]

[/img]

[nferro9925]

I remember when you posted the story about them originially Bondama.

I am glad to hear Gracie is doing well.

[karenkarenn]

I have my doubts leaving the facility, when I asked the stallion manager if they did check for twins he said no. Im looking through my billing paperwork and I dont see a charge for the ultra sound to confim or deny the twins. Hmmmm. Anybody recommend a vet that has an ultra sound machine in Idaho, Nevada, Utah? Maybe?
Once again thankyou for responding to my inquire.
Thanks for the advice.
karen

[vallygirl927]

Yeah, normally one or both do not survive and the mare will miscarriage. That happened a year back to the woman who owns the facility I keep my mare at. She had a TB mare in foal to capsized and the farm said they had her vet checked to make sure she wasn't in foal with twins. Three months into her term the owner found two featuses in the pasture. You can have it done on your own?? Unless you plan on leaving your mare there at the farm....

[karenkarenn]

Yeah Capsized was MAJOR on making twins, The farm that he is at right now is going bankrupt and will be moving Capsized to Oak Hill. Vallygirl- Im going to check around to see if I can find a competent doc that has an ultra sound machine- just for mine own sanity. I might have to travel to another state because the mare is home with me in Nv.
Karen

[pfrsue]

I've never run into a situation like that before, but I'm not sure an ultrasound is going to be effective at seven months. Still, call a repro vet and ask how best to check.

Can you tell from your records when the vet ultrasounded her to see if she was pregnant? If it was 12-14 days after she was covered, a twin check is usually standard procedure. I'd then call that vet and ask about it.

[lindsay_aggie]

Ultrasounding for twins at 7 months can be difficult. The fetus is large enough and over the brim of the pelvis far enough that it is difficult to see the entire uterus on the screen. Make sure that you use a good repro vet. If the stud farm checked you mare in foal it should be routine to scan for twins. It would be unusual for a preg check not to involve scanning the entire uterus and both horns.

Also, the stallion is not going to influence the liklihood of twins. Normally twins are a result of double ovulation and more rarely one follicle can divide into two embryos. The stallion does not factor in here.

Hopefully your mare is carrying a single foal. Good luck!

Lindsay

[Mood Swings]

Great advice from lindsay. Fingers are crossed that your mare is carrying only one!

Bondama - that filly has grown up beautifully! Congratulations

[jennywho]

I had a maiden mare carry twins 334 days two years ago. Both fillies weighed around 75 lbs when they were born.

The first one was born alive, but upon delivery she ruptured the umbilical cord of the second twin. We tried to revive number two to no avail.

Twin number one (mighty mouse - mom's name is cheese) was very contracted in all four legs and tiny. She was such a fighter and screamed for her bottle when she heard a person coming down the shedrow. By a week of age three of her four legs had straightened out and the vet agreed with my request to give her some tetracycline in order to try to straighten the fourth leg (hind). Unfortunately upon evaluation he discovered that she had actually ruptured her achilles in that leg and after a lot of research, we made the decision to euth her as she had almost zero chance of any quality of life.

Looking back, my mare was extra huge towards the end of her pregnancy, especially for a maiden. She had a ton of edema and was really uncomfortable, but since she was a maiden I attributed it to just being her.

The only FOR SURE sign that I didn't pay attention to was the night before she foaled I had a dream that she had twins. If that ever happens again I am leaving the country immediately. JK.

This mare was ultrasounded three times by three different vets. She was checked at approximately 16 days, 30 days and 45 days. No one saw the twins. Just bad luck.

[vallygirl927]

You want to know something crazy....before my mare foaled her colt in 07', about a month before, my mom kept telling me she had a feeling something was going to go wrong. Of course, as my mare's owner, I was like "Stop thinking negatively......" well, the night of her foaling, my mare suffered from a rectal tear. If it hadn't of been for the guy on the property who was checking on her and noticed her water broke at that moment, things would have been horrible, if not deadly. It's crazy how some of us have that "sixth sense". Anyone else have a story like that?

[karenkarenn]

Yeah I do, but not always with horses, though,
karen