Is is true that if a mare has more than 3 babies she kicks 1 out?

Question

also, can they have twins?

Answer 1

I have never heard of triplets in a horse... But what you may be getting confused with, is that when they are about a year old, and it's mother is in the wild, they normally send the yearling away from them before having that year's foal..

Horses can have twins (but rarely) but are not designed to do so, so it's often that case that the pregnancy isn't a successful one, and hence it's usually best to have a good vet check the mare at regular intervals in it's pregnancy.

Hope that helps you  out :)

Answer 2

It is rare for a horse to have twins, and even rarer for a horse to end up with triplets, but I have seen photos of fetuses that were aborted after a mare had been carrying three.  I've never heard of three carried to term, in fact only heard of this one incidence in which three were reported, though I'm sure if it has happened once, it has happened again.  Usually an ultrasound will give you the whole picture, and if there are twins, one will be pinched off so that the other can develop and the remaining foal and the mother will be in no danger.  I have seen a mare carry twins to full term and all three did very well, but I have seen mares carry twins and lose both the twins and nearly die herself.  

Answer 3

Yes horses can have twins and take care of both just fine.

It is EXTREMELY rare for  horse to have triplets, typically when this happens, 1 to all will be miscarried.  If they are carried to term, one (the smaller weaker one) typically passes away shortly after birth.

A mare would have a very hard time caring for three, she has only two nipples and they usually make enough milk for one, sometimes two.

Also multiples have a high chance of being sterile (unable to reproduce) this is natures way of fixing mistakes.

Answer 4

  Twins in horses are pretty rare.  A mare who conceives twins will usually reabsorb one so that she can preserve one healthy fetus.  It is very difficult for a mare to carry twins and care for them after they are born.  Many times the twins are born premature, and one is usually significantly smaller than the other.  Usually the mare will not produce enough milk to nurse both babies and the smaller one will usually have to be supplemented with a milk replacer.  There are always exceptions to this, but in general twins are a very rare occurance.

Answer 5

I don't know why a horse would have 3 foals with her at one time, but I would assume that if she had such a great amount of children some would be driven away.

And YES, they can have twins. A mare at my riding school had twins, though, sadly, one of them was born dead. The other is doing great, though! I know of some cases where a mare has given birth to two foals, and they have both survived.

Answer 6

i have never heard of triplets in horses

but they can have twins and take care of both/

Answer 7

twins are rare and even rarer for them to survive.

triplets, wouldn't think so.  no, i wouldn't think it was true.

Answer 8

Horses don't have litters, so a horse would never have 3 babies.  Yes, a horse can have twins but it is very rare.

Answer 9

No triplets, twins that both live are fairly rare.

http://www.saferhorseracing.com/gpage5.h...

Answer 10

Well, kinda. In the wild, if a mare has a yearling already and then is pregnant again, she will often drive away the yearling in order to be able to better provide for her new foal.

And yes, horses can have twins. However, it is incredibly rare, and incredibly dangerous for mother and foals. Often one of the fetuses will be aborted spontaneously by the horse in order for one to have a good chance of survival, as opposed to two having a very small chance. Because horses are naturally prey animals they need to be ready to run when they are born. Twins of many animals are usually quite weak and twin foals would probably take a lot more time to learn to stand and run, putting them, and the dam, in a lot of danger. And then, during the pregnancy, the mare would be at greater risk from predators due to the fact she had two foals. As they got bigger, she'd would have a lot more trouble than other pregnant mares because she'd be carrying almost twice the weight, and during the birth it would take longer for two foals to be born, again more predator risks.

Of course, in captivity horses do not have the predator risk. However, just the extra strain of an extra foal is still not good, and the mother will need regular vet checks and ultrasounds in order to keep them all healthy. However, whilst many twin cases don't result in two healthy foals at the end, some do! There are cases when owners are lucky enough for their mare to have two healthy foals which can both be fed by the mother and aren't sick in any way.

Answer 11

Triplets have never been recorded, so there could have been triplets but rather they died and it wasn't recorded.

Yes twins can be found in horses. They arent common though, There are some cases of them but 80% of the time (supposibly) at least one or both die due to lack of nutrition and lack of room inside the mother's uterus. =(

If you youtube videos of twin foals you get to watch an amazing site, because having two completly healthy foals is so rare to the world. =)

Here are some website of twin foals recorded and the stories that make you so happy for the foals;

http://www.t-g.com/story/1441621.html

http://www.t-g.com/story/1432642.html

Anyways hope that helped answer =)

EDIT: I meant 90% not 80% my bad lol (thats just horse facts i've heard from veternairians)