Twins

Question
I have a mare that had twins last breeding season and one was snipped after that she lost the other baby. This year I had her checked to see if she was in foal .They said everything was good .She was 5 weeks early and she foaled twins and they both died. I had  her checked 3 times with ultr sound and they said she was fine . What can I do to prevent this from happening and having have her go this far in term and end up losing the baby? And is it common for a mare to be more prone to have twin's ? Thank you for your thoughts!

Answer
Hi David
It is highly rare for horses to bear Twins and if so they die or at least one always does.
In my 35 some years with Horses, I never had Twins.  Hence, I would not breed this mare again and put her through this, she obviously cannot foal normally maybe even if there is only one.  She has a weak insides to carry babies or a foal.  I would fear loosing my mare breeding her over and over for this, unless your using the same sire, change that and maybe she will bear only one healthy one.
Nature has a way to rid of ones not forming properly, most likely something inside of one or both had a problem, so she slipped them.  I had that happened often and also had some born Still Birth and almost lost my mare during that too.?
Breeding and foaling mares is highly risky as in anything to bear babies.  It takes special care, feeding more nutrients, proper exercise, not to let a gelding near her, keeping shots to date before breeding, I never wormed my mare after I got her bred I left her alone.  I just fed more, and pampered her along, riding lightly daily.
I would make sure she cleaned out good before trying again and if your using the same stud, change, he might be the problem producing twins that rarely make it.

Kind Regards
Patt