Horse Birth?

Question

Can a horse have twins?

Answer 1

as mentioned they can have twins, tho rarely do both survive.. most commonly if the pregnancy survives, only one foal will br born alive, the other will usually be mummified (if not aborted early and reabsorbed)...frequently the live foal will have problems and not survive... the horses body doesnt usually have the resources necessary to support a live/healthy twin birth...

nowadays the vets ultrasound early on in the pregnancy, and if they see a twinning they will pinch one off.. it sounds cruel but as better than the alternative...

Answer 2

Yes a horse can have twins.

Usually though they can't carry them both to term and lose both sometime between 7 and 10 months.

In other situations one dies during or just before birth.

Very occasionally both manage to be born live and live but usually at least one will be weak and need help to feed for a while.

Basically twins isn't advisable in mares as the likelihood of any surviving isn't great, which is one of the reasons mares are scanned before 20 days pregnant so if there are two fetuses one is crushed if possible.

Answer 3

Yes but sometimes it can be dangerous. I dont recomend letting a mare have twins unless its a draft type horse. They are big enough to. One of my mares who unfortunatly passed away was pregnant with twins so we aborted the weaker of the tw. The reason we did was so that the baby we got would be stronger. If there were 2 babies then the mther would have to support 2 babies. But I am happy to say, even though the baby is an orphan, he is healthier than ever and doing fine with his friend Sparky in his field with him :]

Answer 4

Yes. But there are times when the mother horse may want to take care of one baby instead of two.  They are rare births that the horse manages to have both babies out alive.

My instructor had bred a horse at the barn once and the horse had 2 baby horses that did not make it into this world alive. It was very sad but we came through it.

Again, they can have twins.

Answer 5

Yes a horse can have twins. just like humans can. Isnt life grand :)

Answer 6

Yes, but it is very difficult. Horses were not designed to give birth to more than one foal. Sadly, in cases of twins it is very common for one or both foals to die during delivery. The risk to the mare is quite high also. If you suspect your horse is having twins, PLEASE contact your vet so he or she can be there to assist the delivery.