GRATIOT - A lifetime of caring for animals did not prepare Teri Johnson for the sight of two foals born to her recently-acquired Gypsy Cob mare, named Crystal, as the sun came up on June 6.
But she could not be happier to have the two now.
"I just started shaking," Johnson said. "I had no idea what to do. You hear horror stories. They just don't live, they don't thrive."
Johnson, 52, worked with the newborns to get them acclimated before phoning her vet, located in Iowa, who told her not to second guess herself. She has 15 years of experience, tending horses even before she moved with her son across the state to settle in Gratiot nine years ago.
But Johnson's fear was well-founded, given the rarity of twin foals. According to Kentucky Equine Research staff, when a mare conceives twins, the delivery of the foals can be dangerous for all three horses. A mare cannot usually withstand more than one foal in a pregnancy and will usually lose one within the first six weeks of pregnancy. The chances of having twin foals are one in 10,000. Even after birth, the chance of survival is very slim.
But Pearl and George, who spend their days running around the circular pen where they were born with their mother by their side, are the exceptions. Johnson said she has seen the differences in the foals, which were small when they were born, but have grown noticeably to be stronger and more playful.
"I'm just glad it worked," Johnson said. "Every time I look at them, my heart just smiles."
Having the horses in Wisconsin came with a bit of maneuvering. Crystal came from the United Kingdom, first flying into New York on April 22. Then the horse was kept in a sealed van for two days and placed in quarantine in Ohio for three weeks before she could be loaded on a trailer and brought to Gratiot on May 17. All of this took place while the mare was pregnant.
Crystal is the horse that Johnson's contact Peter Ash, a breeder in the U.K., wanted to show off to Johnson, who was initially looking for a stallion. Johnson said she did not even choose which particular horse was sent over, only that Ash picked one of his best mares. The vet who examined the 7-year-old mare before take-off missed the twin pregnancy, leading to this rare event unfolding.
Johnson said she wanted to own a Gypsy Cob because of their nature, she said. The stallion she originally wished to obtain through Ash will arrive in the fall.
"They're truly like a big puppy dog," Johnson said. "They're very docile. They're all-around a great breed."
Now Johnson begins each day at 6 a.m. with three of the breed, checking on the foals named for the parents who believed she would some day have the farm of her dreams. Then she drives to her full-time job across the stateline to Illinois and eventually returns to tend to chores. It makes for a full day.
"I wouldn't want it any other way," Johnson said. "Everything I want is in my backyard."
But she could not be happier to have the two now.
"I just started shaking," Johnson said. "I had no idea what to do. You hear horror stories. They just don't live, they don't thrive."
Johnson, 52, worked with the newborns to get them acclimated before phoning her vet, located in Iowa, who told her not to second guess herself. She has 15 years of experience, tending horses even before she moved with her son across the state to settle in Gratiot nine years ago.
But Johnson's fear was well-founded, given the rarity of twin foals. According to Kentucky Equine Research staff, when a mare conceives twins, the delivery of the foals can be dangerous for all three horses. A mare cannot usually withstand more than one foal in a pregnancy and will usually lose one within the first six weeks of pregnancy. The chances of having twin foals are one in 10,000. Even after birth, the chance of survival is very slim.
But Pearl and George, who spend their days running around the circular pen where they were born with their mother by their side, are the exceptions. Johnson said she has seen the differences in the foals, which were small when they were born, but have grown noticeably to be stronger and more playful.
"I'm just glad it worked," Johnson said. "Every time I look at them, my heart just smiles."
Having the horses in Wisconsin came with a bit of maneuvering. Crystal came from the United Kingdom, first flying into New York on April 22. Then the horse was kept in a sealed van for two days and placed in quarantine in Ohio for three weeks before she could be loaded on a trailer and brought to Gratiot on May 17. All of this took place while the mare was pregnant.
Crystal is the horse that Johnson's contact Peter Ash, a breeder in the U.K., wanted to show off to Johnson, who was initially looking for a stallion. Johnson said she did not even choose which particular horse was sent over, only that Ash picked one of his best mares. The vet who examined the 7-year-old mare before take-off missed the twin pregnancy, leading to this rare event unfolding.
Johnson said she wanted to own a Gypsy Cob because of their nature, she said. The stallion she originally wished to obtain through Ash will arrive in the fall.
"They're truly like a big puppy dog," Johnson said. "They're very docile. They're all-around a great breed."
Now Johnson begins each day at 6 a.m. with three of the breed, checking on the foals named for the parents who believed she would some day have the farm of her dreams. Then she drives to her full-time job across the stateline to Illinois and eventually returns to tend to chores. It makes for a full day.
"I wouldn't want it any other way," Johnson said. "Everything I want is in my backyard."