Seeing Double: Handling Equine Twins

Because the mare’s uterus is not designed to support two pregnancies, veterinarians have developed methods for detecting and reducing twins.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

Seeing Double: The Trouble with Twins
Although it is possible for a mare to deliver the occasional set of healthy twin foals, the risk of losing all three horses is high. | Photo: Photos.com

Veterinarians discuss methods for detecting and reducing twins

Twins are a novelty, especially the equine variety, and while we’ve all heard heartwarming stories about special cases in which both foals survived, the truth is less than one in 100 twin pregnancies results in such a fortunate outcome. Why the miserable odds? Simply, the mare’s uterus is not designed to support two pregnancies simultaneously, says Juan Samper, DVM, PhD, an equine reproduction specialist and associate dean of clinical affairs at the Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, in St. Kitts, West Indies.

This is why conscientious horse breeders try to avoid this situation altogether, and it is also one of several reasons why veterinarians should examine mares 14 days after breeding, says Ahmed Tibary, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACT, professor of theriogenology in Washington State University’s Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences.

We visited with Samper and Tibary to understand why twin pregnancies occur, why they’re dangerous, and how early detection and intervention can help you avoid a two-for-one which could prove dangerous or even deadly

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Heather Smith Thomas ranches with her husband near Salmon, Idaho, raising cattle and a few horses. She has a B.A. in English and history from University of Puget Sound (1966). She has raised and trained horses for 50 years, and has been writing freelance articles and books nearly that long, publishing 20 books and more than 9,000 articles for horse and livestock publications. Some of her books include Understanding Equine Hoof Care, The Horse Conformation Handbook, Care and Management of Horses, Storey’s Guide to Raising Horses and Storey’s Guide to Training Horses. Besides having her own blog, www.heathersmiththomas.blogspot.com, she writes a biweekly blog at https://insidestorey.blogspot.com that comes out on Tuesdays.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

How much time do you usually spend grooming your horse?
440 votes · 440 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!