Rare horse twins thriving in Delaware
A Delaware couple got a recent shock when their pregnant horse, Miss Dreamboat, gave birth to two healthy foals. Born on May 5, the twins are rare: the chance of a mare successfully delivering twins is about one in 10,000, according to Hoof Beats magazine.
Ultrasounds had showed just one embryo, so trainers Jim and Carol Atkinson were not at all expecting twins. The filly, nicknamed Bonnie, was born a few minutes before her brother, a colt nicknamed Clyde. Both were smaller than average Standardbred foals, which typically weight about 100 pounds. Bonnie weighed 65 pounds; Clyde weighed in at 48.
Owing to his small size, the Atkinsons drove more than two hours to the Mid-Atlantic Equine Medical Center in New Jersey, where the young twins were treated with oxygen and fluids. Clyde was also put on a feeding tube.
"He was critical from the standpoint that he was pretty hypotensive," Dr. Rodney Belgrave told Charlene Sharpe of Hoof Beats. "We were fortunate that he responded well to the blood pressure medication."
Miss Dreamboat and her twins spent about two weeks in the clinic before returning to the farm in Harrington, Del.
Today, the twins have reached average size for their age and are thriving. Whether they will be able to race when they are older remains to be seen, but the Atkinsons say that saving the twins was worth the high medical bills.
"I can't even explain how much joy it is for me to watch them and play with them," Atkinson said. "They've been a lot of fun."
The Delaware twins are the second set of surviving horse twins reported this year. A pair was also born in Georgia on Easter morning.
