When Foaling Horses, Expect the Unexpected…

By: Brittany Bevis

When Jenna Burkstrom purchased her new mare, Designer Goods, in an online auction at 290 days pregnant, she was excitedly looking forward to having her first foal.

“It was 7:30 at night, and my trainer, Britt Heggland of Hollow Hill Farm in Oxford, Connecticut, sent me a link to the Professional Horse online auction. She liked another mare that was posted by the same breeder. I went to buy her, but her bidding ended just after I made an account to bid. So, I found Designer Goods, aka “Prada,” and decided to bid on her since she was from the same breeder and had the same amazing lines- Impulsions, ZMBG, The Invester, Good Asset, and Diesel Only. I wasn’t exactly looking for a horse, but almost every horse I have has been the result of a coincidence or right timing!”

Jenna’s new mare, Designer Goods, was in foal to Epic Icon. With new goals to start showing in AQHA all around competition in classes like Western Pleasure, Trail, Showmanship, and Horsemanship, the cross seemed like a good fit for a foal that could eventually become Jenna’s new mount in a few years. But, surprise! It turned out that Jenna got three for the price of one. Prada delivered two colts, one much smaller than the other, but with almost identical markings. Because Prada’s registered name is Designer Goods, Jenna and her family decided to name the colts, Lord and Taylor, after the famed department store.

“I can’t say exactly when they did the ultrasound, as I got her at 290-300 days, but I suspect it was the normal pregnancy check and then maybe a 30-day ultrasound. The breeder was very upset at his vet for missing the twins, as I’m sure we all would be. We think the twin was missed because Prada has some cysts, so that can make it difficult to determine an embryo from a cyst, especially with only a quick check.”

“I was incredibly surprised! Prada was big, but she was 18 years old and has been having foals since she was four. For an older broodmare, it’s not uncommon for her to carry a bit low. She wasn’t as huge as one would expect. The birth was very easy. She foaled them out like nothing. However, Lord couldn’t break his sac. No one was there during her foaling. By coincidence, there was a cat fight in the barn that night, and the barn owner who lived above the barn happened to hear. She came down to check it out and saw that Prada had foaled Taylor. She saw a second sac, but thought it was just a piece of Taylor’s sac. She walked away, but then had a gut instinct to go back and look, because she saw something poking out of the sac. It happened to be Lord’s hock! She sliced the sac open and there was Lord.”

Although Taylor was born first, and was nearly twice the size of his twin, Lord, (55 and 35 pounds, respectively) Taylor was having the most trouble. Taylor had seizures, was turning septic, and was not nursing.

“His legs were ice cold, and he was given only a 10% chance to live,” Jenna says. “He nursed a bit at first, but then rapidly went downhill. He actually did stop breathing and had his tongue hanging out. Thankfully, he was revived. We did the Madigan Squeeze Method several times. Eventually, it worked, but we’re unsure if he was actually a dummy foal or if he was just so septic and sick that he couldn’t nurse. We fed him through a tube for days. We had to be with him 24 hours a day.”

Despite Taylor’s initial health challenges, Lord had more to overcome, as he was the smaller of the two. “Lord had no bone in his knees, just cartilage, so they had to be confined to help the bone grow. We got advice from multiple vets at Cornell and TUFTs. Lord ended up having a leg deformity, due to him not developing enough bone, even though we followed the strict conservative treatment. So, he’s currently my expensive pasture pet that’s sound, bucking, and running, but just can’t be ridden. We’re looking into surgery for him in the future; but, when we looked a few months back, he didn’t have a good prognosis for the procedure. Taylor is doing great. Both are incredibly intelligent.”

Because the twins look so similar, Jenna is often asked if they are identical. “Not to my knowledge. Similar markings don’t indicate them being identical, as white markings are dictated by the uterine environment. Identical twins are rare in foals; most are fraternal. Both came out in separate sacs as well.”

The current plan for Taylor is to become Jenna’s new all around horse. She would love to start showing him in Longe Line classes next year. Lord will continue to be Jenna’s pasture pet as she continues to evaluate the condition of his legs. “As long as he’s sound and happy, he has a place with me forever.”

Jenna has created a Facebook page so people can follow the progress of the foals- Lord&Taylor- Twin Foals.