On 5/13/2008 6:43 AM Anya Getman wrote:
> Has a mare ever delivered twins days apart, versus minutes/hours apart?
I suppose "never say never", but it would be HIGHLY unlikely, to the
point where I'm willing to say "no".

If your friend has doubts, have a vet stick their hand in there - if
there were a second foal present, then it would almost certainly be
compromised, and there could be an outside possibility of a second foal
present with a dystocia, but as I say, the likelihood is pretty much
zero, and the mare would be likely to be in great distress. There have
been cases reported on this list and elsewhere of a twin being aborted
during pregnancy and maintenance of a remaining pregnancy, but that is a
different situation.
> suspects that their mare is still pregnant after delivering a healthy
> colt 2 weeks early
OK... we've been through this a hundred thousand times before... "early"
doesn't exist unless it's prior to 320 days, which I suspect is not what
is meant here. If 340 days is being taken as a "due date" (and just to
reinforce the concept IT'S NOT!!!), and the foal was 14 days "early",
then it was born at 326 days which is right in the the NORMAL range of
320-370 days.
> it's
> affecting their foal heat breeding planning
>
How?

If the mare is not displaying foal heat, there's nothing new there that
would suggest the presence of a second unborn foal! Many mares will not
display estrus on their foal heat when they have a foal at foot!

Regards to all,

Jos Mottershead
For equine reproduction information and
CE credit short course details visit:
http://www.equine-reproduction.com