THE owner of extraordinarily rare twin-foals born in Littleport is appealing for help after she was told last week that one of the animals needed emergency surgery to survive. The foals, which were born three-weeks ago on a farm near Wisbech Road, defied

THE owner of extraordinarily rare twin-foals born in Littleport is appealing for help after she was told last week that one of the animals needed emergency surgery to survive.

The foals, which were born three-weeks ago on a farm near Wisbech Road, defied odds of 10,000 to one to come through birth alive, but one of them is facing almost certain death after vets discovered its front legs were severely malformed.

Owner Yvonne Bartram, is facing a bill of more than �3,000 to fund the life-saving surgery but has been unable to raise the cash and has turned to the public for help.

"The birth of twins was totally unexpected to say the least as it is such a rare occurrence in horses. They aren't designed to carry more than one foal and often die when giving birth to two, she said.

"What's more, when we took our mare to the vet last year we were told she was barren and would never be able to conceive again, so when my farrier told me that he though she was looking a bit heavy earlier this year I couldn't believe it.

"After our mare gave birth to the twins we noticed that one had very wonky front-legs and the vet told us that this was as a result of being squashed in the womb. She told us that the foal would need surgery to correct them problem or he would need putting to sleep."

A spokesperson for British Equine Veterinary Association, told the Ely Standard: "Cases of surviving twins are incredibly rare. Normally, if a 14-day scan revealed twins we would manually reduce the pregnancy for the welfare of the horse and to give the other twin a chance."

Anyone wishing to help with Yvonne's appeal can contact the Ely Standard on 01353 667831 and we will pass the messages on.

Yvonne vet has agreed to bandage and splint the foul's legs until she can raise the cash. He has suggested she try special corrective boots which will cost around �900 each.

"Newmarket Equine Hospital has made it very clear that he has a poor prognosis and that anything we try is a long shot. I am nonetheless determined to try and save him, the alternative is euthanasia."

Anyone wishing to help with Yvonne's appeal can contact the Ely Standard on 01353 667831 and we will pass the messages on.