One of the most difficult moments for a mare horse is in the case of twin pregnancies. Twin pregnancies are not dangerous for humans while the situation with horses is completely different. Most of the time, the twin pregnancies in horses do not result successful and even when they do, sometimes it is difficult to keep the baby foals alive as a lot of complications occur to them.
For more specific information, the probability of twin foals being born alive is one in 10,000, and there is a one in 15,000 chance of them surviving the first two weeks. It is indeed scary when you think about it and makes you realize how successful this twin pregnancy in the video below is. It is also a difficult decision for a vet whether to continue with the pregnancy or not when they are in front of such difficult cases as they need to take into consideration that the mare’s health can be affected as well.
It is indeed a very complex situation and as amazing as it can be if the pregnancy is successful, the chance of possible failure is way higher, referring to the statistical data above. Students at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Oregon State University witnessed a miracle — the arrival of twin foals, Mocha and Cappuccino. “I’ve been doing this for 30 years and this is only the second set of live twins I’ve seen,” says Dr. John Schlipf.
Mocha and Cappuccino, two males, were unable to nurse from their mother and thus were not receiving the necessary amount of colostrum, so the hospital provided them with plasma, antibiotics, and lots of TLC. Students on the CVM Foal Team and students on externship from the community college veterinary technician program provided 24-hour care and feeding of the foals.
They were born on the same day, yet they are so different from each other. One is more energetic and loves running around while the other is a little lazier, also for the fact that the aftermath of the pregnancy was worse for Mocha compared to Cappuccino. I have to add that their names are also very interesting. Please watch the video below and let us know what you think about this amazing duo.