[This message has been edited by Hudini (edited 12-24-2021).]

No, They are definitely modern day Thoroughbred horse bones and not fossilized but instead, are from a mummified set of twin foals of a horse in Georgia USA . Twinning in horses is pretty rare, about 1 in 10,000. Successful live birth even more rare.

In most cases, death of a young fetus in the uterus results in the developing but deceased fetus being aborted (expelled). You rarely find it with cattle or horses and the mother goes back to cycling and (in cattle) is bred again. With horses, since breeding is a bit different (few people keep a stallion with their mares year round) if the fetus is barely developed, a varmint will usually drag the aborted fetus off.
But, sometimes (in both equine and bovine) the fetus is not expelled, especially if the fetus is near full term/fully developed.
1 of 2 things happens.

1.An infection occurs and the owner becomes aware of it because of a foul looking and smelling discharge and the rotten fetus has to be removed piece by piece. I have done this ONCE with a cow. It is a horrible experience. The odor is overpowering and ob saw wire is used internally to cut legs and head off. You are working by feel, thru the vaginal canal of a live un-sedated animal and there is not a lot of room to do anything.

2. The fetus is not expelled and the mother's reproduction system begins to absorb the fetal soft tissue and liquids and then begins to encase the hide, hair and bones in calcium based scar tissue. It's fetal mummification in uterus a process that takes weeks to complete and when done, will be a dark, leathery looking mass. The mother will not breed back but may carry the mummified fetus for years.

In the case of the horse bones, a new owner had the mare checked by a vet as was routine for any new animal and the mummified fetal remains were discovered. It was twins, as you can see by the number of leg bones and ribs, and it took a team of 3 vets most of the day working in shifts to get all the bones and mummified skin out. The heads had to be cut up tho most of the skulls were in pieces anyway, which is the reason for only a few recognizable jaw pieces but what is there, clearly shows how far along development was as you can see the teeth coming in. The mother survived, and is a fine looking animal. This happened within the last 24 months.


Tho very rare today because of modern medicine, the same thing can and has happened with humans, but usually only in under developed countries or because the mother was afraid of the medical procedure needed to remove the deceased fetus.
The latter reason was the case fo this one, (from India) and the mummified remains were carried by the mother for 36 years.



https://www.sciencedirect.c...ii/S2210261214003253

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 12-26-2021).]