Rare twin foals born in Columbia City

Columbia City, Ind. (WANE) - A very unlikely set of twins was delivered over the weekend.  Rare twin foals were born at the Conley and Koontz Equine Hospital in Columbia City.

A foal is another name for a baby horse.

The proud mother is a 16-year-old Paint/Pinto mare named Tiki.  Her owners, the Mason family from Huntington, used technology to give Tiki and her babies the best possible chance for survival.

"They weren't a surprise; we knew they were coming," said Laura Mason.  "We did an ultrasound at 19 days, 29 days, 41 days and 72 days."

"With twins, you're worried about problems in the first two weeks or so, but these twins are doing excellent health-wise," said Grant Minnemeyer, D.V.M.  "And with their smaller size now, they most likely will be ponies."

"The first few hours, she really didn't know what to think," said Ryan Rothenbuhler, D.V.M.  "There were two, and she'd move their feet, and their would be one on one side, and one on another side.  She was a little nervous in the beginning, but she took to it really quick."

Only about one in 10 thousand horse births result in twins.  Of those, only about nine percent will be carried to term.  And very few of those will result in healthy babies and mothers.