can a mare abort one twin but still carry the other

[ruby121]

Hi, I've got a cob mare who we put to a stallion last August, she was well in herself and carrying fine, in November she went extremely lame and her back legs where very sticky, had vet out straight away, they said she had aborted the foal which had brought stress laminitis on. After a month we finally got her on the mend, and all of a sudden she balloned in weight and looked a very suspect shape, so of for a scan she went only to find she is carrying a perfectly healthy foal, no the vet is saying she must have been carrying twins and lost one, as anyone herd I f this before as vet seemed very shocked. Thanks if you made it to the end x

 

[Spring Feather]

Well it seems this is so, judging by your mare. I've personally never heard of it, but hey nature is a marvellous thing! Best of luck and hope all goes well :smile3:

 

[Equi]

Did you find a body from the first foal? Its possible to snip one foal off, to save the other. So if nature has aborted one to save the other....

 

[ruby121]

No was never a body just very sticky down her back legs,

 

[Equi]

Could she have rubbed on a tree (sap) or fence paint or anything? I'm not sure i would be trusting a vet who makes a medical prognosis from "sticky legs"

 

[popsdosh]

Its perfectly possible how do you think mares dealt with twins before scanning became an everyday tool, Twinning was still about then but generally one would be aborted usually sooner than yours . You wont always find a body at that stage as it would most likely have been taken.
I would have very serious doubts about a vet or anybody for that matter who cannot tell the difference between a discharge in a mare and tree sap .

 

[tashcat]

Could she have never aborted a foal in the first place?

The stickiness could have been some kind of discharge or similar? Or perhaps completely unrelated to pregnancy?

I've never heard of this happening before but thats not to say it couldn't

 

[JanetGeorge]

I don't know at what stage it ceases to be possible - but a couple of years ago I had a mare on whom twins were missed (by stupid junior vet!!) At about 65 days, I had her scanned again (by senior vet) as she was on Regumate to suppor the pregnancy (she had a history) and I wanted to make sure she WAS still pregnant. What I wasn't expecting was twins!

We stopped the Regumate and hung on. By day 75, she had lost one twin. She carried the remaining foal to full term and a healthy birth.

 

[JanetGeorge]

I should add that I think your vet made a sweeping diagnosis - and it's more likely the mare was carrying a single only. Even a 3-4 month embryo should be spotted.