ISLE LA MOTTE, Vt. -
Call it a pony tale.
"Down there they're calling them the Champlain twins," said Randy McCoy of Champlain Isle Ponies.
The two twin foals were born just days ago to a mare in Virginia, but their father, Champlain Rainmaker, grew up in Vermont.
"My first reaction was intense fear because twins in horses hardly ever survive," McCoy said.
McCoy owns a pony breeding farm in Isle la Motte. They have 65 ponies now and have bred several champions. McCoy raised Champlain Rainmaker before selling him to a breeder in Virginia, so these foals are like grandchildren to him.
"It's very much like having your own kids; watching them be born, grow up, then move on to make their own lives," McCoy said.
Twin horses' chances of survival are extremely slim. The farmers in Virginia wouldn't even name the twins for fear they wouldn't make it. Now, veterinarians say the unlikely odds are in their favor. They've made it to day four and are as healthy as any other newborn.
"It's an incredible legacy for our stallion," McCoy said.
While the twins survived, their father won't be around to see this rare legacy. He died of Lyme disease in the fall.
"Although we lost him last fall, we have something very exciting and unusual to carry on for him," McCoy said.
The tiny twins, like the rainy weather, remind McCoy that Rainmaker will not be forgotten.
