We may be used to seeing twins in the human world but when it comes twins in the equine world, that is a rare sight to see.
Twin foals are an extremely rare occurrence. In fact, only about one in 10,000 cases result in twin foals compared to 3 in every 100 for humans.
For those mares who do get pregnant with twins only about nine percent will be carried to term.
So when a 16-year-old American Paint horse called Tiki gave birth to twin foals, the arrivals attracted national attention.
This sweet older mom did everything right throughout her pregnancy which was overseen by the Mason family who ensured she had regular ultrasounds to monitor the babies.
Her adorable foals were born healthy at the Conley and Koontz Equine Hospital in Columbia City, Indiana in 2011.
According to the Huntington County Tab, “The 86-pound colt was born first, at about five minutes before midnight, healthy as — well — a horse. The filly was born about 10 minutes after midnight, weighing in at 59 pounds. The filly, although she was the smaller of the two, turned out to be the stronger of the pair — she was up and walking around within 10 minutes of birth,” Laura Mason says.
Her owners kept a close watch on Tiki as it’s not uncommon for mares of twin foals to abandon one or both of her babies, yet Tiki never rejected Woodcock Pocket and Charming Opal. She proved to be a loving, attentive mom.
Horses are not designed to produce twin foals so for Tiki to produce healthy twin foals at 16 years old and not reject either of them is not only beautiful but extremely rare.
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