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August 10, 2008

Of course, of course: Valley thoroughbred mare gives birth to rare twins

By Deb Kelly

Heather Bolding has been surprised twice in her life by the unexpected birth of healthy, four-legged twins.

Most recently, the Vermillion County horse breeder got a shock when her 15-year-old thoroughbred mare, Rare Rose, gave birth to two Palomino colts.

Sunday, as the active, 21/2-week-old babies frolicked in a pasture at Noble Farms, Bolding described her first twin experience, when she was just 13 and had bred her very first horse.

“We didn’t know anything about breeding,” Bolding said with a laugh. “We didn’t think she was pregnant, we didn’t know any better … then she foaled and gave us healthy twins.”

Bolding, a mother of three, said she has been involved with horses since she was 8 years old.

The chance of a horse giving birth to live twins is about one in 10,000, according to Bolding. To put that in perspective, twin births in humans occur in about one of every 80 pregnancies. Not only is it rare for horses to give birth to twins, but it is also very dangerous to the lives of the mare and her offspring. For that reason, in almost every case in which twins are identified, one of the fetuses is aborted very early in the pregnancy, according to Bolding.

The veterinarian who first worked with Rose missed the twins even after conducting three ultrasounds, Bolding said.

It wasn’t until Rose was giving birth, on July 25, that Bolding and her vet learned there were two babies.

Although each colt was born weighing just about 40 pounds (a normal weight would be closer to 80 pounds, Bolding said), the happy owner said they had absolutely no health problems.

The larger of the two is nicknamed “Gumby,” because of his wobbly legs when he was born, and the smaller, second-born is affectionately called “Tu.” Both of them have slightly curly manes and tails, and they follow one another everywhere.

Bolding, who breeds and sells sport ponies, said someone already is interested in the new additions. They will be raised and trained for competitive jumping and dressage. Bolding said she may decide to keep Gumby as a stallion.

Rose, who is a retired racing horse, was bred in Illinois, where she raced before coming to Indiana. She was specifically bred with a Section B Welsh Pony stallion named Ulterra Aviator, imported from Canada. Bolding said she breeds for color, among other things, and chose to breed Rose with Aviator to produce a half-Welsh Palomino foal.

The birth was not easy. The mare delivered the placenta first – a complication known as red-bagging, which stops labor and cuts off oxygen to the foal. After Bolding and the vet helped deliver a colt, Bolding said Rose lay down and “started moaning again.”

“Then there was another set of feet!” Bolding said.

For the next few months, Gumby and Tu will spend lazy days in the pasture at Noble Farms, soaking up the sun and growing. Bolding has already picked out the official names of each twin – Gumby will be registered as “NF Rock My Socks,” and Tu will be called “NF Rock This Way” with the Welsh Pony and Cob Society of America Inc.

It won’t be long before the young colts are on their way out into the public eye, Bolding said. They are already scheduled for a Welsh Pony show in September in Cloverdale.

Bolding said when she spoke with the Welsh Pony organization, she learned they have no registered twins in their history.

“They were pretty excited,” she said.

For more information about Heather Bolding and Noble Farms, visit online at www.freewebs.com/bold123 .

Deb Kelly can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or deb.kelly@tribstar.com.

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