# twins



## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

Twins rarely survive, and often take the mare with them. If they do all come out unscathed, you're pretty much guaranteed to have very small and somewhat unhealthy foals.

Horses are flat out not designed to have twins. They only have enough room for one, so when two develop, they rob nutrients from each other. Sometimes one will survive, or be born ok, but the other will be sickly or more often then not die.

Twins should be avoided at absolutely ALL costs. It is a rather simple procedure to have your mare checked, and pinched off if the vet discovers she's twinned. Twins in horses are not cute, and almost always fatal for one of the parties involved.

Twins aren't born "identical". In my experience they're usually the same color, but with different markings. If they do survive, one is almost always bigger then the other.


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## southerncowgirl93 (Feb 5, 2009)

Miko said it perfectly. I have only heard of a few cases where both survived. You just don't want your horse to have twins because you will probably lose all two if not three horses.


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## Whipple (Feb 2, 2009)

Also labor triggers the placenta to detach in horses. Unlike humans, in which it detahces after the baby is born (Normally). With twins, could you imagine the dilemma? One baby is born, while the other is waiting, not getting oxygen, helpless. Possibly will be a dummy foal, and have problems. Of course this is if everyone survives.

As Miko said, it should be avoided at all costs. This is why ultrasounds are so important. Unless you're ok with that risk.


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## chika1235 (Jan 1, 2009)

MacabreMikolaj said:


> Twins rarely survive, and often take the mare with them. If they do all come out unscathed, you're pretty much guaranteed to have very small and somewhat unhealthy foals.
> 
> Horses are flat out not designed to have twins. They only have enough room for one, so when two develop, they rob nutrients from each other. Sometimes one will survive, or be born ok, but the other will be sickly or more often then not die.
> 
> ...


 
how are twins not cute?i dont know if you mean they are ugly or what.and by pinched off you mean one or both of the embroys taken out?yes i read in horse and rider that all horses have diffrent markings because its like their fingerprints to them.yes horses arent designed to have twins just look at how big a horse gets with just one foal in there.i have only heard of one case in which twins were born and they both looked about the same but one was about a hand taller than the other.i was trying to get pictures on here of twins but i couldnt find any of the horses i was talking about.thnx for your info though!


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## Whipple (Feb 2, 2009)

I think Miko meant that they are not cute because they are possibly so problematic. Even if a mare with two babies is cute, it is insanely rare that twins go off without a hitch. It is most definitely not two for one.


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## chika1235 (Jan 1, 2009)

Whipple said:


> Also labor triggers the placenta to detach in horses. Unlike humans, in which it detahces after the baby is born (Normally). With twins, could you imagine the dilemma? One baby is born, while the other is waiting, not getting oxygen, helpless. Possibly will be a dummy foal, and have problems. Of course this is if everyone survives.
> 
> As Miko said, it should be avoided at all costs. This is why ultrasounds are so important. Unless you're ok with that risk.


 
yes i think ultrasounds are extremely important.thats why when i breed my mare im going to have one to see if shes taken,one about 5 months or so down the road,and then one close to birthing so i know shes all right.then ill probably have one of my friends who breeds horses for a living come down to help me if nesssecary when she is in labor.if my mare is going to have twins i will probably have the vet take one out if he decides that it might be dangerous.


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## Spastic_Dove (Oct 4, 2007)

It's all been said pretty well. Twins rarely make it compared to "normal horses". We had a set of twins at the clinic last year. One was tall, healthy, gorgeous. The other had misformed legs, was under weight, etc. The second foal had to have multiple surgeries to attempt to get his legs straight enough where he would be able to live a comfortable life. Though last time I saw him, he was running around, he was still much smaller. The mare had a very hard time during the birth and they had a nurse mare on sight just in case. 

Constant contact with your vet during a pregnancy is a great way to make sure you do not have twins. It is very rare, but something to make sure you avoid.


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## Whipple (Feb 2, 2009)

I might be mistaken, but you should probably get an ultrasound a bit closer to the breeding. That way your vet can pinch off one, if there are twins. At 5 months after, they'd be much bigger.


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## chika1235 (Jan 1, 2009)

Whipple said:


> I might be mistaken, but you should probably get an ultrasound a bit closer to the breeding. That way your vet can pinch off one, if there are twins. At 5 months after, they'd be much bigger.


about how far along should he check for twins?(you can tell this is my first breeding of my mare)im going to breed her next year so i have pleanty of time to get a good stud and get more info on breeding.


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## Spastic_Dove (Oct 4, 2007)

I believe it is 30-35 days after servicing.


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## Joshie (Aug 26, 2008)

chika1235 said:


> about how far along should he check for twins?(you can tell this is my first breeding of my mare)im going to breed her next year so i have pleanty of time to get a good stud and get more info on breeding.


I can tell by your post that you're no more ready to breed a horse than I am. One year is NOT plenty of time. You've made several posts about breeding your horse(s). You appear, from your posting, to be very young. Breeding is a tremendous responsibility. 

Some questions:

1) What is your experience with pregnant mares?
2) What is your experience with foaling?
3) What is your experience with foals/young horses of any age?
4) Will your finances support the loss of a mare, newborn care, pregnancy care, or the loss of a foal?
5) What experience do you have with horse conformation? In order to choose a proper mate for your mare you'd need to understand horse conformation to better your mare. 
6) Is this mare registered?
7) What are your plans for the foal?

Etc, etc.....


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## CJ82Sky (Dec 19, 2008)

well said joshie.

in addition - i knew of twins. both were born seemingly ok w/o issue and the mother also lived. the owner decided to not do a follow up ultrasound to check for twins. well fast forward to about 6 years later. the one twin had regular soundness and health issues - lamenss, unexplained sickness, etc. the other twin the "healthy" one was found dead in the pasture one afternoon for no reason at all. vet thought likely stunted/underdeveloped organs that didn't mature with the size of the horse as they grew. imagne - twins - thinking wow, they are fine i'm so lucky. and then SIX YEARS later one's lame and unrideable (for life) and the other is inexplicable dead.....


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## CheyAut (Nov 26, 2008)

Twinning (getting pregnant with twins, not successfull delivery) is fairly common in Thoroughbreds. Not sure HOW common in them, as I only breed minis, but more so than other breeds. (just mentioning that, no clue what breed the OP's horse is, just something I found interesting).

Your mare's first U/S would be about 16 days after breeding, and then as often as your vet recomends.


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## ilovemyPhillip (Apr 4, 2009)

Well seeing as i have little experience with foals and breeding, i have to agree with Joshie. Everybody wants to breed their "pretty mare" to a "handsome stallion" not thinking about what will happen at all. Revise those questions, and everyone will tell you what is/isnt a good idea. Now, i was going to breed my grade mare, but these guys really talked me out of it. Heck, we dont even know what kind of pony she is! Ive decided to wait and get the money, time, and right mare until i breed (which will be another 2 years or more), and we just have to find the right stuff to do it. Good luck, btw


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## Eastowest (Mar 26, 2009)

_>>>> I believe it is 30-35 days after servicing._ 

30 to 35 days is getting on the late side to pinch off a twin. My vet recommends the first ultrasound happen by 16-20 days if possible, up to 24 days or so usually still being OK if there is a twin to pinch. Later might still work, but the embryo grows from pea to olive sized between day 24 and day 40, and the embryonic vesicle grows, in that same time period, from 1 inch in diameter to 2 1/2 inches in diameter. The progressive and rapid increase in size and mass makes it tougher to safely and effectively crush one of the twins, as well as leaving more matter behind that has to be taken care of by the mare's system, without harming the surviving twin. According to my vet, by day 45-50 it is usually considered too late to safely/effectively pinch one.


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## Jessabel (Mar 19, 2009)

Twins are extremely rare, and on the off chance that a mare is carrying twins, it's wisest to have one embryo pinched off. If both are allowed to go full term, there could be so many things that go wrong and the mare would be in a lot of danger. In other words, you could end up with two dead babies _and_ a dead mare. It's even rarer for one or both of the twins to survive, and even then, they'll probably be small and not very healthy.


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## Spastic_Dove (Oct 4, 2007)

Eastowest said:


> _>>>> I believe it is 30-35 days after servicing._
> 
> 30 to 35 days is getting on the late side to pinch off a twin. My vet recommends the first ultrasound happen by 16-20 days if possible, up to 24 days or so usually still being OK if there is a twin to pinch. Later might still work, but the embryo grows from pea to olive sized between day 24 and day 40, and the embryonic vesicle grows, in that same time period, from 1 inch in diameter to 2 1/2 inches in diameter. The progressive and rapid increase in size and mass makes it tougher to safely and effectively crush one of the twins, as well as leaving more matter behind that has to be taken care of by the mare's system, without harming the surviving twin. According to my vet, by day 45-50 it is usually considered too late to safely/effectively pinch one.


Thanks for the correction! Obviously, I don't plan on breeding anytime soon.


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## Eastowest (Mar 26, 2009)

_>>>> Thanks for the correction! Obviously, I don't plan on breeding anytime soon. _

Not a problem  unfortunately I was sharing from personal experience--

I had a mare years ago that we determined ovulated two eggs regularly, and we pinched twins two different seasons on her-- once approaching 45 days-- she lost that pregnancy a few months later-- the next year we got her in early and took care of the twin before 18 days and she delivered a gorgeous palomino overo filly for us. Not sure if the first pregnancy loss was a result of the late catch of twins or just a coincidence, but owning this mare and going through what we did certainly spurred on several conversations with the vet regarding twins and ultrasounds!


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