Christmas Cuteness: Charles and Charlotte

THE odds of miniature twin foals surviving is 1 in 10,000, but Prince Charles and Princess Charlotte found their feet and are thriving.

Cindy McGrath from Avatar Springs in Parkville, has been breeding miniature horses for more than 30 years and said she was shocked when the mare delivered twins.

“She delivered a foal then laid back down on her back with her legs in the air and I thought she was going to die, but to our surprise another foal was born alive,” said Ms McGrath.

“They were both similar sizes, usually one is much smaller, it was such a big effort for such a little girl,” she said.

“It is the third time the mare has had foals, she was big, but she had been like that before, so we had no idea she had twins,” she said.

“It was a complete surprise that she was carrying twins and it was a complete surprise that we got them to survive,” she said.

Cindy’s daughter, 14 year old Miranda who named the foals, tended to the weakest foal every hour, putting her on the mare until it was strong enough.

“The mare, Princess Silver Bell, is feeding them both and loves them both equally and it is really pretty to watch, they are both doing so well,” Cindy McGrath said.

“On Christmas day they will be two weeks old, we kept them in the stable until yesterday when we let them into the paddock and they enjoyed running around together,” she said.

Twin miniature foals Princess Charlotte and Prince Charles when they first ventured into the paddock yesterday.

Twin miniature foals stretching their legs for the first time outside.