Fans of WT
I recently bought a subscription and wanted to say bravo on the magazine! I’m really enjoying it and think it’s a fresh and informative source on topics for which there aren’t a lot of alternatives out there. Long overdue!
Letters toWT
Melissa Harvey, Sunnyvale, CA
I received the first issue of Warmbloods Today in March and was instantly hooked. Although my childhood dream of owning a horse never came to be, I still carry that childhood love for horses. The articles in WT enhance my love for the majestic, sensitive animal. I just loved the article Twin Surprise: Our Two
little Miracles. When I finished reading it, my emotions had gone from tears over the loss of Mollie to joy over the picture of the happy, healthy twins. Although the story is bittersweet, I believe that anyone thinking of breeding will most likely learn the importance of avoiding twins, since the outcome can be so unpredictable and dangerous. My heart is still touched just writing this. I felt the same emotions of sadness and joy when I read Black Beauty as a young girl in the 50s. Uncovering the True Talon was not only an
informative article, Andrea and Joe demonstrated the results of patience, caring and the quest for the soft eye. Talon you are so beautiful!! What a wonderful lesson for us all.
L
impossible) by vets who are capable and experienced in repro and who have a decent ultrasound machine. This practice can avoid all but the very smallest margin for error for missing (and eliminating) twin pregnancies. The fact that the woman who experienced this
wrote that “we discussed ultrasounding Molly with a number of vets and ultimately decided to forgo the ultrasound.... because Molly was such a long- bodied mare, there was a good chance the procedure would not be accurate. In addition she was a proven broodmare with a history of single births.”
These misleading statements are heresy in the
breeding world that may cause more preventable deaths of newborn foals and the broodmares who put their lives on the line for us! There is no way that a “number of vets” agreed not to ultrasound the mare. This is an essential and very effective diagnostic procedure used in equine reproduction. The fact that the TB mare was long bodied would have no effect on this procedure unless the vet was a diminutive person. In that case, call another! Lastly, every experienced breeder is aware that every single pregnancy a mare carries is different and just because a mare had a history of single births, could, in no way, stop her from carrying twins. I truly hope you are responsible to the breeders out
there who do not know the above and print this letter.
Saret Tola, Jump Start Farm, Lexington, KY
Dottie Kelley, Amherst, NH
Breeders disappointed by “Twin Surprise”
I am writing to convey just how appalled I was when I read your article on twins in the November/ December issue. As a long-time professional breeder of sport horses, I want tell you your publication is entirely irresponsible in misleading breeders to think that allowing twin pregnancies to go to term can ever be a success story. Picturing two “healthy” twin foals as yearlings and minimizing that fact that the mare died needlessly did just that, if you are inclined to argue this point. Mares are not meant to carry twins and as breeders
we put our mares in harm’s way by breeding them. It is our duty to make certain our mares are checked regularly (i.e., at 14 and 16 days post ovulation before the time to eliminate one twin becomes almost
12 January/February 2010
As a horse lover and responsible breeder, I was shocked when I read an article in your publication that treated the birth of twins as a success story! Mares are not intended by nature to carry twins to term, which is why such a high number of undiagnosed twins results in the death of one or both of the foals, as well as the mare. The mare in this case died, due to the negligence of the owner and the attending veterinarian! No responsible owner should ever let twins go to term, which is why ultrasounds are so vital to the health of the mare and foal, and should be preformed early in the pregnancy. I feel that the tone of your article was celebratory, when it should have been remorseful and should have presented twins as a warning to breeders, in an effort to properly educate the equine community on this topic. A sidebar on the dangers of twinning does not cut it. Presenting the topic of twinning in such a positive light is nothing short of irresponsible! The owner of these horses may have saved herself a little money by not ultra-sounding the mare (which I find her reasoning of her mare being long bodied hard
L
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