A horse believed to be barren has unexpectedly given birth to incredibly rare TWIN foals.

Last year vets told owner Yvonne Bartram her 13-year-old mare Sofie would be unable to conceive again because she had a corrugated uterus.

Now the retired international show-jumper has defied odds of 10,000 to one to give birth to healthy twins Fell and Vinnie.

The four-week-old foals are a rarity among horses, as one embryo tends to take over during pregnancy and the other is aborted, or dies early.

Yvonne, who owns Elysian Horses, a sport stud in Littleport, Cambs, said their birth was a complete surprise.

"I helped to deliver the first foal, then another pair of feet appeared and I couldn't believe my eyes," she said

"The birth of twins is such a rare occurrence we definitely weren't expecting it.

"Mares aren't designed to carry more than one foal and often die when giving birth to two so the mum has done really well.

"What's more, when we took Sofie to the vet last year we were told she was barren and would never conceive again, so when my farrier said she was looking a bit heavy earlier this year I was shocked."

The twins were fitted with tiny dog coats to keep them warm and Yvonne spent the night in the stable with them.

After two days the smallest foal, Fell was up on his feet and Vinnie followed two days later.

Although they are twins the foals look very different.

"Fell, was the size of a cocker spaniel when he was born and is chestnut coloured," added Yvonne.

"Vinnie was slightly larger and looks like his mum with a brown body and black mane and tail.

Sadly little Fell has developed wonky front legs as a result of being squashed in the womb and now needs emergency treatment to have them straightened.

Yvonne is now trying to raise £3,500 to pay for Fell to have his legs cast.

In the meantime his legs have been put in splints and bandages and he is being fitted with special corrective boots at a cost of 900 Euros each.

"The vet told us the foal would need surgery to correct them or he would need putting to sleep," she said.

"We have all put so much effort in to Sofie and her baby twins and it is so rare we couldn't bear to lose them and will do anything to save Fell.

"We have been told he has a poor prognosis and anything we try is a long shot, but I am determined to save him as the alternative is euthanasia."

A spokesperson for the British Equine Veterinary Association, said: "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."