Do horses give birth to twins?
For sure, horses can give birth to twins. The thing is that such phenomenon is really rare and actually dangerous for a mother horse. There is not enough space for the foals inside. So when the unwanted twin pregnancy is discovered early it is common for horse owners to have one of the embryos removed.
What are your thoughts on this subject?
93 Comments
Tammy Hoffman
To me the answer is confusing, you say it is "Yes" , but then you go on to say that when the twins are discovered the owners have one of the embryos removed. When you make that statement you change the answer because the mare is not carrying twins anymore. So to me the answer should be "Only wild horses" since they don't have owners to change the outcome of their pregnencies.
20
Nov 18, 2016 6:37AM
Chris Brown
In horses, twin fetuses are uncommon. Carrying them to term is even more unusual, and birthing healthy twin foals is especially unlikely. “Twin pregnancies are extremely undesirable in horses, as they almost always have a bad outcome,”
0
Jan 17, 2023 6:02AM
Susan Lake-Harris
Technically - if it ever happens - the answer must be "yes", in spite of it being extremely unusual. Better wording of the question and different options for answers would improve this.
0
Jan 1, 2023 8:12PM
Marina da Conceicao
Answer should be know as twins are neither viable nor the norm. They are an infrequent occurance that more often than not has a tragic outcome for all involved.
0
Jul 3, 2022 3:14PM
dmarkc
Tony Gratton, farm boy might look at this differently.
0
Jun 14, 2022 2:02PM
Joris van Pelt
In horses, twin fetuses are uncommon. Carrying them to term is even more unusual, and birthing healthy twin foals is especially unlikely. “Twin pregnancies are extremely undesirable in horses, as they almost always have a bad outcome,”
3
Aug 27, 2021 8:25PM
Bill Campbell
You'd have better luck winning the grand prize in a National lottery than having the successful birth of twin foals.
3
Aug 17, 2021 6:10PM
teresab
Completely inadequate explanation.
1
Jul 19, 2020 6:10AM
Nancy Chisholm
It's very rare for a mare to carry two foals. Most of the time she will spontaneously abort or if carried to time usually one foal will die.
0
Apr 18, 2020 7:13PM
teacherchicky
Agree with Vince savage. There is a 1 in 10, 000 chance of carrying twin foals to term and so the question and answer do NOT match. Can would have been better wording. The whole thing is a mess!
0
Feb 24, 2020 12:14AM
Felicity Hewitt
Rubbish question! It is technically possible for a horse to give birth to twins but as it’s so dangerous due to lack of space in the womb and the fact that foals have really long legs and this can cause birth complications and/or fatalities, the vet at a stud farm would terminate one of the pregnancies so only a single foal would be born. As wild horses may not get veterinary care twins would be more likely but very risky to mare and foal.
So although mares can give birth to twins - they don’t!
0
Dec 24, 2019 4:49AM
Chandran David
Never heard of this !
0
Nov 25, 2019 6:51AM
Joseph A. Robitaille
Interesting Q and A.
1
Nov 4, 2019 3:47PM
Jean MacGillivray Marlow
The simple fact is that virtually every time a mare gives birth to twins, both foals will die and usually the mother does too. They CAN give birth to twins, but they DON'T.
0
Oct 26, 2019 10:22PM
Richard Hoff
Veronica Luby-Hoey, a male horse is a stallion or a gelding (a fixed male)
0
Jul 4, 2019 8:11PM
Julie Allen
Conceiving twins is extremely rare in horses, about a 1 in 10,000 chance, and twins that survive birth are rarer still.
1
Jun 17, 2019 3:03AM
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