Horse & Hound – 22 August 2019

Twinsremaina rarityinthe

horseworld—withgoodreason,

as Andrea Oakes discovers

Double trouble

T

HEarrivaloftwinfoals

tendstohitheadlines.

Whenbreedingmare

DidiVanWeltevreden

deliverednotjustonefoalthis

springbuttwo,herconnections

werecertainlysurprised.

“Wehadn’trealisedthat

shewascarryinga twinfoal,

untilthebirth,”saysMarjolijn

TakkeofBeukesteinStablesin

Maartensdijk,theNetherlands.

“Shehaddevelopeda reallybig

bellytowardstheendofher

pregnancy,butthevettoldusthat

wasnormalasthemareis big.

“Whenthefillyfoalarrived

andwasnotthatlarge,wejoked

thattheremightbeanotheronein

there,”Marjolijncontinues.“Then

Didistartedtolabouragainand

deliveredthesecondfoal,a colt.”

Didi’sdoubledeliveryis indeed

remarkable,accordingtoDr

CharlesCookeMRCVSofEquine

ReproductiveServices.

“Asa preyanimal,a newborn

foalmustbereadytoleapto

hisfeetandrun,”heexplains,

pointingoutthatotherbaby

mammalsthathavethe“pack”

toprotectthemremainhelpless,

withtheireyesshut,forsome

time.“Toensurethishappens,the

mare’splacentaprovidesallthe

foetusneedsbutwillonlyreally

sustainonefoalsatisfactorily.

Twinpregnanciescanoccur,

however,whena mareovulatesan

eggfromeachoftwofolliclesand

botheggsarefertilised.

“Carryingtwinsis risky,”adds

Charles.“Itis essentialthatthe

marehasanultrasoundscan15-16

daysaftercoveringtoseeif sheis

infoal,addressanytwin/triplets

orprepareherforre-coveringif

sheisn’tpregnant—andanother

ataround18-20daysif thereis

anyevidenceorsuspicionofa

secondpregnancy.Somemares

arealsoscannedat 28 daysto

confirma single,healthyfoetus.”

CHANCESOFSURVIVAL

WHILEsometwinpregnancies

mayreducetoa single

spontaneouslyinthefirstfew

weeks,Charlesexplainsthat

promptactionis preferable.It

is usualforthevetto“squeeze”

VET CLINIC

DidiVanWeltevredendeliveredtwinsunexpectedlythisspring—a filly

andcolt.Despitethedifficultiesinvolved,andalthoughthecoltwas

smaller than the filly, the mare and both her foals are healthy and happy

Grooming:AppliedAnimal

BehaviourScience217,p43-47

Music:JournalofEquine

Veterinary Science78, p89-93

FURTHER READING