Sad update regarding the twin foals.

[Shari]

I'm gonna have to run, but I wanted to send an update about Uno and Boo, too. They lost them both. Ironically, neither died due to being a twin; they likely would have survived "twinhood".

L and K wanted to send thanks to everyone for the prayers and support. They're the kind of folks who believe things happen for a reason, and are thankful to have had these little babies in their lives, even tho for a short time.

 

[ML]

Oh no, I am so sorry to hear this sad news.

 

[GoingNorth]

Sorry to hear this. Sadly, it's not uncommon with twin foals, even ones that appear healthy at birth. It has to do with the way horse placentas work. When you have twins, neither of them can get everything they need in utero, and it leaves them open to all sorts of problems.

Still, it is sad. In the future, they can ultrasound the mare at 20 or so days and determine if she's carrying twins. If so, the vet can "go in via the back door" and "pinch off" one of the embryos. It's highly recommended in a mare that has born twins before and its not a super expensive process.

 

[Shari]

I was kinda suprised, GN, that they hadn't done this. It was a maiden mare, and they did so many other things that I was just...suprised. When my mare was bred 9 years ago, it was only $25 or $30 at the University to have the ultrasound done. But now they know.

It is so rare for twins to live. These two had a better than fighting chance, and the post mortem exam on both showed nothing to indicate otherwise - antibodies were good, etc. This family works for everything they've got - it would have been great for them to have defeated the odds. So tragic to have them both taken by injury. I still have to post photos...they were adorable. Full term, full size, equal in size, etc, and the vet wasn't concerned even about the mare's milk production. She seemed to have more than enough, even for the two.

 

[Star*]

Well now they have twin angels. I'm so sorry for the mare. How's she doing?

 

[Shari]

Actually, we have a friend who lost a mare after her foal was born, and they are trying to get this mare to take that foal. I ahve not heard how its going...I know they've been extremely busy with it all, so I haven't bothered them to ask! I'm sure they'll let me know as soon as they have a breather and I'll pass it along.

 

[GoingNorth]

IF she'll accept the other foal; it'd be great for her to be a nurse mare, especially with that sort of milk production. I didn't realize it was injury. I thought it was illness or something like that.

 

[Shari]

Yeah, I think it would also help everyone "deal"...if something good can come out of the loss, ya know?

Yeah, GN, that's the sad part. Illness or infection or prematurity takes most twins; these two likely would have been the exceptions. Freak accidents took them both.