Rare twin horses born on Riley farm
Grazing in a fenced-in area on the Roger and Kim Riley farm on a sun-soaked Wednesday afternoon were Pride and Joy, twin foals born May 9. The friendly horses never refuse petting from visitors, or shy away from attention. Ever since their birth in early May, they?ve received plenty of it.
The Rileys were expecting their 15-year-old mare, Breeze, to give birth to one foal, not two.
The birth of a baby horse on the Riley farm is nothing unusual. They are a horse family, with 13 of the animals on the property.
What is unusual, is that twins were born, and they are still alive. The chance of twin horses being born and surviving is anywhere from 1 in 100,000 to 1 in 500,000.
Conception of twin foals ? which is rare to begin with ? normally results in the smaller fetus dying from lack of room in the uterus. The dead fetus mummifies, and the twin eventually dies from toxins produced inside the mother.
KIM RILEY said the mare went full term (June 8, 2007 to May 9, 2008), plus an extra day. When it was time for Breeze to give birth, Riley said it was a normal presentation, ?the foal resembles a diving position.?
It was a normal delivery, and was progressing rapidly, until they saw a third foot along with the front feet and nose.
?Thinking the foal rounded itself somehow, and this was a hind foot, I quickly called the vet,? said Kim. ?She calmly explained what could be going on and how to continue.? Kim would later learn the vet was suspicious of the possibility of twins and already had one foot in her truck ready to drive to the Riley farm. ?Since I wasn?t sounding as calm, she said ?what would you have done if I told you possible twins?? ? Kim responded, ?I would have panicked.?
Within 15 minutes of the conversation, and 45 minutes from the onset of labor, Roger delivered the first foal.
A friend of Kim?s was on hand for the delivery and observed another set of feet sticking out.
?It was like an assembly line,? said Kim. ?The second one came right after the other.? The sorrel stud colt was born first at 85 pounds and was named Pride. Lil sis, or Joy, was next. She is a sorrel tobiano, only 10 pounds lighter.
?WHAT A MIRACLE from God!? said Kim. ?I cannot begin to tell you the shock we were in, and the pure state of panic. That?s something you never want to have because the outcome normally isn?t good.?
From a veterinarian and a breeder standpoint, twins are never a blessing. Twins are caused by double ovulat
The foals are energetic, affectionate, and seem to be well on their way to long, healthy lives. They couldn?t have been born at a better place.
Horses are a part of the Riley?s lives. Kim has always been around horses. She?s been a 4-H leader and has invited children with handicaps to the farm to ride on horses. Roger and Kim?s daughter, Robin, a freshman at Michigan State University, is studying horse management.
People from the community have heard about the twins and have stopped by, and that includes an older couple who had never seen a twin birth in their lifetime. For the foals, when it comes to getting visitors and attention, the more the merrier.