I asked for twin stories and I received two.
Today, we meet Canta Tivitos Delite and Desire!
Sire: Lenas Trey Tivitos
Dam: Canta Cee Bubbles
Delite on left and Desire on Right. Delite was first…
BUT FIRST, A TWINNING THOUGHT…
Let me digress a bit. First off, twins are rare in equines because generally, only one thrives in the womb. The other either dies in utero – which is not good for the dam… – or it is born under developed.
This happens because the sack and uterus usually cannot support two fetuses.
As a general practice, if a vet determines that there are two embryos growing, he will ‘pinch’ one to save the mare the probable misfortune of one foal dying inside – or of a traumatic birth.
Now for me, the pinching was always a dilemma. If my mare did have two embryos, could I have the vet pinch one? And if so, which one?
Luckily, I never had to deal with that… but I know twinning is one reason why many breeders opt for an early ultrasound.
THE ULTRASOUND
If you are a breeder, you are all too familiar with ultrasounds.
Especially when you are breeding to outside stallions. You need to know the size of the follicle before insemination… so you can order your blue tub of babies via Fed Ex at exactly the right time.
QUICK, CALL THE STUD AND ORDER OVERNIGHT!
Once the deed has been done, a few weeks later, you will need to check to see if the mare ‘took’.
While the vet is palpating the mare during the ‘pregcheck’ ultrasound, he/she will show you the digital photo of the embryo. This is what you stick on the fridge.
In some cases, he/she may show you two embryos. (This is where the pinching comes in.)
And sometimes the vet misses the twin completely…
Born healthy without much human intervention!
Desire, the second foal.
Tuckered out… Good, busy Mama.
CANTA TIVITOS DELITE AND DESIRE!
Meet these precious young ladies who were born on April 25th, 2012. Delite was first (darker filly).
These girls were born on a working/training/showing ranch, Susie Walton Foundation Quarter Horses, in Michigan.
The really interesting part is that twins are not unusual around there…
It seems that the dam, Canta Cee Bubbles, had a set of twins four years earlier. And, another mare on the ranch of the same the sire line had 3 sets of twins!
!!!
A mare of the same sire line had 3 sets of twins – on that ranch!
I wonder if that is conclusive or just a coincidence?
(The second foal was missed on two of the ultrasounds.)
Anyway, to say that Susie was familiar with twins and the complications was an understatement…
They should mark their height against the side of the barn…
THE BIRTH
The dam, Canta Cee Bubbles by Canta Peppy, wasn’t any larger than she had been with previous single pregnancies.
She didn’t act any differently and she didn’t seem more stressed.
The mare hadn’t had an ultrasound because the stud lived on the ranch (no need to call in an order…) and her last births had been a series of singles.
The night she foaled, it was ‘business as usual’. The first arrived and Susie thought all was done for the morning.
And then the mare laid down again.
At first, Susie thought nothing of it. Mares usually lie down to pass the placenta.
So, Susie quietly left the barn…
But then she thought… Hmmmm. Uh oh. What if…?
By the time she got back to the barn, #2 was on the ground! Canta Tivitos Desire.
They are the second set of twins from this particular dam.
MAMA MIA!
Susie said that Mama seemed to be more interested in the second filly. It was as if she had forgotten about Delite.
Mama focused her attention on getting Desire to drink. So, Susie had to spend several hours working with Delite. Finally, it all happened comfortably and each girl took a side of the dam for nursing.
And, it stayed that way. Both fillies only drank from her own side!
Growing and neither is stunted in any way. Delite is a stunning brown/black with some flash. Desire is King Ranch sorrel.
HEALTHY!
Both girls did receive all the colostrum they needed and they are both growing normally. Neither is smaller than normal.
I asked if they hung out together more than normal, non-twin, same age foals would.
Susie said no. She said that there is a third filly from another dam who is about the same age and they all play together. Susie doesn’t see any favoritism between the girls.
Here are the three fillies all together. The twins don’t hang together specially.
FOR SALE! (no affiliation)
The girls are for sale! Delite is shedding out to a rich brown/black and Desire is King Ranch Sorrel!
They will probably be the last of their line… So if you like them, you can contact Susie.
You can read about them here.
They are for sale (no affiliation) and probably the last of their line.
Pretty girls.
This is the sire… Lenas Trey Tivitos (photo: Brandie Feasel)
This is their sister who is a surviving twin from a previous birth of the same dam. (photo: Brandie Feasel)
This is their brother, who was a single birth from the same dam.
HORSE AND MAN is a blog in growth… if you like this, please pass it around!
Copyright
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
PRECIOUS! I bred for my second horse and, especially as a non-breeder, thank God I didn’t get an extra! Even if everything had been normal, I surely could not handle three horses. Similar to “pinching” an embryo, if you planned to keep the baby and got two, how would you decide which one to sell?