A draft-horse mare with two foals; it begs the question, are these twins or is the mare a mini-mare ?
In the rare twin pregnancy, it is normal for one foal to be smaller at birth and may lag in growth when reared.
The deployment of a minus is usually the result of a foal being rejected by its mother or the death of a mare during foaling or shortly after birth; a traumatic experience for the breeder. And to mention another reason, although it only happens occasionally, a foal may fail to drink sufficiently from a mother with small teats. As a result, milk production is not activated, declines and remains low.
There is a lot involved in giving both foals a good start. A mare's milk production is too low for two foals. Therefore, feed several litres of artificial foal milk daily and later supplement it with a portion of foal rearing feed. Giving solid food requires patience from the breeder, each pellet is carefully chewed.
If some mares are already barely able to cope with the youthful drive of their foal, how must this go with two foals. Foals that follow each other in everything, drinking simultaneously or shortly after each other, taking turns to wake the resting mare from her sleep.
The question went unanswered, no farm in the wide vicinity to be seen to inquire from its occupants.
Groningen-based painter, illustrator and author Wim Romijn enjoys international fame as a horse painter. He also paints farm animals and wildlife. His designs and illustrations served to make greetings cards, calendars, posters, embroidery kits, portfolios and giclées.
In the picture books Het Werkpaard (1990), the..
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