Miracle identical twin foals have been born – at odds of 100,000-to-one.
The pair were a surprise because only one had shown up on scans.
Twins born from different eggs are rare.
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Identical twins from the same egg are rarer still.
Caroline Holland, owner at horse retirement home, Central Horse Retirement Ltd, was stunned at the birth.
She provides a livery for horses to retire in Bedford.
“We knew the mare was pregnant but one of the twins was hidden behind the other so didn’t show up on scans,” she told What’s The Jam.
“So we thought there was only one foal.
“It was a shock when a second one was born.
“What made it more incredible is they were identical twins.
“Although they look slightly different.
“But there was only one placenta.
“That’s how we knew they were from the same egg.”
The odds of a mare giving birth to twin foals are estimated at 1 in 10,000.
While double pregnancies in horses are not uncommon, it is rare for both foals to survive to term.
The odds of a horse giving birth to identical twin foals are incredibly rare, estimated at around 1 in 100,000.
Identical twins, also known as monozygotic twins, arise from a single fertilized egg that splits into two embryos.
Caroline also had to perform The Madigan technique, also known as the Madigan foal squeeze, on one of the youngsters.
This allowed it to stand and start bonding with the mare, Charlie.
The foals named Loreto meaning miraculous and Darko meaning gift were born on Sunday, (22 Jun).
Caroline added: “The mum was a young mare who was retired because of injury.
“It was a miracle birth.
“We are delighted that both mother and foals are doing well.”
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