NCHA PEOPLE
Carol Ward has spent plenty of time with the identical twin filles, Skippy and Darlin.
Small Miracles
Twin foals defy the odds and develop a fan following on social media. STORY BY SUSAN MORRISON | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEAN FITZGERALD
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hen Carol Ward urged the big bay roan recipient mare to foal on May 10 or 11—the birthdays of her late mother and father, respectively—she had no idea of what would result from that encouragement. The foal would be a full sibling to Crafty With Cows (High Brow CD x Miss Haulin Hickory x SR Instant Choice), Ward’s gelding that was inducted into the NCHA Horse Hall of Fame this year, and she was hoping for a colt. “I told her it would be nice to have another big, strong colt, because Crafty’s mother is getting older and there probably aren’t that many left down the line,” Ward said. But that wish didn’t come true. Instead, on May 11, the mare named “Mary” delivered two fillies—identical twins who were a complete surprise to everyone at Carol Ward Cutting Horses, and to two veterinarians who had performed heartbeat checks early in the mare’s pregnancy. “Both of them missed it,” she said.
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CUTTING HORSE CHATTER • JULY 2020
The twins were a result of one embryo that had been transferred into the mare and later divided. Twins are rare in horses, and not desirable. Most twin embryos spontaneously abort early in pregnancy, and others are lost later, often causing major reproductive health problems for the mare. Those that survive through foaling usually are small, with both foals weighing about the same combined as one healthy foal. Although there was no indication that the mare was carrying twins, she did exhibit some signs of discomfort during her pregnancy. In fact, Ward’s longtime breeding manager, Jean Fitzgerald, treated the recipient mare for placentitis—an inflammation of the placenta—with antibiotics, Regumate and an anti-inflammatory, but now realizes Mary was probably trying to abort the foals at that time. The treatment, she said, probably saved the recipient and both embryos. Ward has dealt with twins a couple of times before, and lost one in each case. So when she and her husband, David, headed
to the barn to help Fitzgerald as the mare foaled, she couldn’t believe what she saw. “We got there just as the second one came out,” Ward said. “She was actually breech and her hind legs were over the top of the first one. The first one was locked in there awfully tight, and I think the [other filly’s] hind feet were right along her face at some point, so her eyes were kind of beaten up. And she wasn’t breathing. We resuscitated her. The little one that came out breech was the first one to get up and nurse. The other one took a little bit longer, but not much. They both had good sucking instinct and quite the will to live.” Although the mare seemed a bit confused by the presence of two foals and how to divide her attention, Ward said, “she wasn’t going to give up on either.” It initially took some supervision to keep her from stepping on the one that she wasn’t looking at, though. Ward was cautious about the fillies’ futures, as was Fitzgerald. Although they appeared healthy, they were small and needed a bit of extra attention. They each were given plasma to increase their antibodies, as is routine at Ward’s breeding operation in Rancho Murieta, California, but also got a second dose as a booster. They also both required a little “corrective shoeing” with a special type of plastic orthopedic foal shoes with a large sole platform that supports the foal’s leg. “They both were just slightly turned out in front, from the knees down, so we’ve been X-raying their knees and they’ve been straightening up beautifully. When they get these shoes off they’re not getting any more.” As the fillies developed distinct personalities, they earned the names
Fans of Carol Ward Cutting Horses’ Facebook page have been following the progress of the fillies.