Tania Mackee of GFS Sporthorses was in for quite a surprise when her mare Destiny gave birth to her second set of twin foals.
After giving birth to her first set of twins in 2018, GFS Shockwave and GFS Aftershock, Destiny shocked the world this February by delivering her second set of twins, Pesky and Peakaboo.
For Destiny, an Irish Sport Horse, to have twins in the first place is a chance of 10,000 to one. However, the mare wasn’t quite done defying the odds, as she went on to give birth to her second set of twins.
Destiny with GFS Shockwave and GFS Aftershock
The odds for a horse to give birth to twins twice is around one million to one.
In most cases, twins do not have a high survival rate in horses. Many times in the case of twins, an embryo is aborted, as there is a high risk of the foals and mother dying during birth or shortly after. This makes Destiny truly incredible, as she gave birth to healthy twins not once, but twice.
GFS Shockwave and GFS Aftershock. Photo by Tania MacKee / GFS Sporthorses
Destiny’s first set of twins were identical colts and her second pair were a colt and a filly. The second set was truly a surprise, as the scans showed just one ovulating follicle and only one fetus after conception.
If Tania would have known the mare was carrying two foals, she would have taken the extra steps needed to handle a pregnant mare with twins.
Destiny showed no signs throughout her pregnancy that she was carrying twins once again, giving quite a surprise to her owners when they arrived.
Destiny with her twin foals, Peekaboo and Whoopsie
Amazingly, the twins were nursing and on their feet in no time, eager to explore the world.
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Though it is a mystery how the second foal went undetected during pregnancy, Tania is thrilled that the two babies and their mom are healthy.
Tania said in a Facebook post:
“I am well aware that despite the miracle of this incredible event and the likelihood of two sets of healthy twins being born to the same mare being akin to being struck by lightning twice; there will be many people choosing to put a negative and unkind slant on this. That is fine, we are thrilled that both twins survived and feel that it is a balance of fate, luck excellent care, and probably a pinch of fairy dust too that saw these two little miracles arrive, survive, and win our hearts!”
Peekaboo and Whoopsie. Photo by Tania MacKee / GFS Sporthorses
Since birth, Peekaboo and Whoopsie have proven to share a close bond. GFS Sporthorses says the pair are agile, athletic, and fast, eager to show off to anyone who watches.
It is truly an incredible feat that Destiny gave birth to two pairs of healthy twins, that are all thriving. Though she has proved to be a wonderful mother, Tania does not plan to breed Destiny again.
After raising two pairs of twins, she certainly deserves lots of praise.
Be sure to follow GFS Sporthorses on Facebook to see updates on the twins, as well as their other stunning horses!
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Source: https://horseyhooves.com
