Thanks to technology and the level of medical knowledge we have present today, we’re able to be closer to unborn babies more than ever before. With ultrasound, for instance, we’re able to “meet” a fetus well before he or she is ready to make their grand entrance into the world, helping us determine what they will look like and if they’re growing and developing as expected.
While ultrasound is used on not only humans but can also be done on animals both big and small, Jenni and Guy decided not to have an ultrasound done on their pregnant horse, Treliver D’Aquitaine (“Daisy”). So, imagine their surprise when Daisy, who was seven days overdue, gave birth to not just one but two foals!
Jenni and Guy, who were both at the scene of Daisy’s labor, were casually waiting for Daisy’s baby boy to stand for the first time, that is, until they realized their beloved mare was contracting once more.
“I felt inside her and felt two feet, Guy got back to the stables and I told him to pull out the second baby as quickly as possible and with me catching her our hearts stopped watching to see if the second foal would be alive and she was!! She was breathing…” said Jenni in complete shock.
Eventually, Baby Number Two, a female, arrived via a breech birth, although survived.
“She was tiny but strong and a fighter, wanting to stand within minutes and ready to drink once standing,” says Jenni.
What made this moment so special wasn’t just the fact that Guy and Jenni didn’t expect Daisy to have two foals but the fact that most horses are usually only pregnant with one foal at a time. Twins are rare in horses, but if they do end up occurring, the second foal usually passes away before or shortly after birth, but in Daisy’s case, she birthed two healthy babies!
The Saratoga twins were named Don Quixote and Duet and are still doing very well. What great news for Daisy and her owners!
“They weren’t out for long and every day we stretched their time out, now they go out with other mares and their foals and the twins stick together like glue – when a new mare comes near they run to Daisy who has a very big presence in the paddock and nobody messes with her babies…”
Learn more about Daisy’s miracle double birth below!
