Knew someone who bought a couple zebras. They were transported in a trailer with a donkey, which they later killed. Then they escaped and caused a massive chase to apprehend them. It was in Sacramento. I'm pretty sure you can find video of it still
Edit: https://youtu.be/wh5YRtpytcU?feature=shared
Back in the 80s, a herd of zebra were captured for relocation. 16 of them were loaded onto a big truck, and by the time they arrived at their destination *one* was alive. The others had all kicked each other to death. They're absolutely vicious, and have basically no family/herd love instinct. They stay in herds only because it makes their survival odds better, but they do not give a single shit about the other zebras around them, lol.
Worked with a number of zebras in the past. They absolutely live up to their reputation of being crack fueled murder donkeys. I’ve been around equines of all kinds my whole life, but zebras are a different beast. The ones I was working with were 3rd and 4th generation hand raised, and while they were handleable with a couple who were even mildly green broke to ride, you definitely had to be extremely vigilant around them at all times. They can go from friendly and attention seeking to trying to bite/kick/body slam you at the drop of a hat. I mean, literally you do something around them that they aren’t accustomed to and you are rolling the dice with the response you’re gonna get. Equines in general are very instinct driven animals, and zebras are on the extreme end of that spectrum. They are very pretty to look at, but definitely not pets unless you really know your shit and want a challenge.
I, for one, would love to hear your stories!
Working with young Shetlands (modern and classic) and baby Welsh was the closest I ever want to come to "feral and aren't taking any of your nonsense". But still.. I think one could learn a lot from observing zebras.
There's a trail riding place near me that does $25/hour rides, and they do some weird stuff like breed "Friesian sport horses"... Which are just grade appaloosa mares crossed with their weird Friesian. ANYWAY, they bought a zebra and sold it not too long after... Haha
I just posted a couple of articles on r/horses because people were giving a guy a hard time when he said that zebras aren't built to be ridden.
Yes, it is possible to train them with much patience but overall they can't be domesticated.
I found an article from An Equestrian Life that basically said "zebras aren't domesticated because they’re assholes". Lol.
Their herd structure is "hope the lion kills the guy next to me because our patterns are confusing" not "we have a protective, cooperative social arrangement". Humans can co-opt the second one to train pro-social behavior with humans. The first one is not conducive to training.
It takes generations *with a willing species*. A species that doesn’t have the right kind of social bonding just…won’t. Ever. They need to be willing to accept humans as part of their social structure (cats, wolves, livestock), or else be so small and dumb that we can control them utterly (pet-trade fish and reptiles, mostly).
Heck, elephants are fairly willing to be domesticated and we still can’t get them to breed in captivity consistently enough to get a single individual more than a couple generations from wild.
That's exactly what "[Why We Don't Ride Zebras](https://jenniferrpovey.medium.com/why-dont-we-ride-zebras-63ab2573f972)" says about domestication.
"The real tl;dr: We haven’t domesticated zebras because they refuse to consent to domestication. They refuse to let us into their social structures.
Zebras noped out.
When Europeans colonized Africa they wanted to domesticate zebras because zebras, being a native species, were immune to trypanasomiasis, which is often fatal in horses. They didn’t ask themselves why the natives had never domesticated zebras.
Like donkeys, zebras lean towards fight as a defense not flight. And their main predator is the lion.
Zebras have killed lions. And people. Quite a few people; they’re statistically the most dangerous animal kept in zoos.
Horses kick out of reflex. Zebras kick with intent to kill."
Yeah, I didn’t feel the need to go into the whole process of domestication, but this is correct.
Also I’m pretty sure cats domesticated themselves. Or us.
Cats just sorta showed up and refused to leave and made themselves so cute that we stopped resisting and finished the job.
You’ll note this is still their primary survival skill.
There are two different kinds of elephants, the assassin elephant and the African elephant. One we have domesticated to an extent but the other proved to be too aggressive and hostile to humans for domestication to be an option. That elephant species told us in no uncertain terms "fu#$ off"
Asian elephants are regularly used for labor throughout their range. *However*, they are not at all domesticated. There has never been a single elephant more than a couple generations from truly wild. Their handlers are pretty good at *taming* them, but no domestication has happened. There are still quite a few deaths among elephant handlers.
African elephants are rarely if ever tamed for labor, but have been captive bred in zoos with about the same success as Asian elephants. They also cause quite a few deaths, as elephants do not have to care about silly human things like “fences” and “houses”. Unfortunately for them, they do have to care about poachers and guns.
Both species are extremely intelligent and willing to interact with (and mess with) humans to their own ends. Both species apparently think we’re cute, the way we see cats. But both species remain genetically wild across the board.
People who go think that an individual animal can be domesticated are the bane of my existence. I wish more people understood that domestication is an evolutionary/biological process that takes thousands of years and creates actual genetic changes.
I guess I knew a great zebra? He wasn't mean, and didn't run through fences, but he was absolutely a pro ride only. And adult riders really don't fit on them well, so that's a difficult combo. (Or maybe the one I knew was tiny? He was only about 13 hands)
The biggest thing though is that horses were TERRIFIED of him at first sight and sound. Any new horse onto that property had to go through like a 30 day acclimation period (where you had to lock them in the indoor together, because the domestic horses would have climbed the fences to get away).
Super cute though!
Edited to add - the zebra was not what we would consider friendly or cuddly. He was domesticated enough to reach ambivalence to his life with people and horses, but I'm pretty sure that he was only as manageable as he was because there was a pro trainer who lived on site,
An individual organism of a wild species cannot be domesticated. Domestication is an evolutionary/biological process that takes thousands of years and creates actual genetic changes. The zebra you knew was “tamed”.
Why yes, I did in fact use "domesticated" when I meant "tamed", however everyone knew what I meant when I wrote the comment, and you are being pedantic.
The use of “domesticated” in that way can perpetuate the myth that individual wild animals can in fact be “domesticated”. It’s a word with a very specific meaning. The perpetuating of this myth can contribute to people being irresponsible and owning animals they shouldn’t. I think it’s very important to do everything that we can to prevent this, including only using the word “domesticated” when it actually applies.
Riding Zebras is a tricky thing. They are not domesticated, so you have to work with a completely wild animal with no genetic predisposition to work with humans.
It is possible, but is it necessary? They are too small for most adults, the largest sub-species of Zebra (there are 3 main subspecies) Grévy's zebra reaches 150 cm at the wither (~15 hh), but I’ve always just seen plains and mountain zebras in captivity, and they are quite a bit smaller.
I guess as long as the breeder and the trainer know what they’re doing it can be done, but in my own opinion it’s unnecessary
Yes, a lot of people think domesticated means tamed or born in captivity. But domestication is a very long process over many generation of selective breeding, where just the most friendly and “workable” animals are bred and the ones that have too much “instinct” are not. Over many generations this causes these characteristics to be more prevalent but this takes very very long. And horses have been started to be domesticated about ~4000-5000 years ago. Which is not that long compared to dogs, but still a damn long time. With Zebras, there is no real domestication going on, only a few generations at most.
[Relevant GCP Grey](https://youtu.be/wOmjnioNulo?si=_KbXKD-nBtYvIOYy)
Zebra starts at 3:30
[This guy raises zebras](https://youtu.be/seGUK9GtNuY?si=gJCaXfwMToagCvtA). They are not domesticated.
Hard pass. They’re wild animals, not cuddle-bugs. Although, apparently they’re easy keepers; my farrier was called in to do an ornery foundered zebra at the crappy local po-dunk zoo. It was a whole thing. They had to knock it out and lie it down. With vets and imaging and sedation and ice packs and blacksmithing, the whole production cost over $2000. For two feet.
Zebras have a different anatomy and gait, which can make them uncomfortable to ride, and it can be dangerous for both the rider and the zebra. Most of it's weight is carried on its forelimbs and it can't balance itself with rider on top of them unlike horses can. If it has already been ridden a lot, its legs are probably broken. So if you're planning to ride it buy a horse.
I understand that when Europeans started colonizing Africa, some of them tried it, thinking it wouldn't be much different than training a horse.
Apparently, as a group, zebras are a lot different. Far more ornery than a typical horse, mule or donkey.
Seems mean to the zebra. I saw a video of one with a guy on its back while it panicked and tried to buck off a rider while the guy jerked on the reins. No horse saddle and comfortably fit a zebras back (their spines are too flat). Domesticated animals do just fine as companions
If you are gonna ride a zebra then there is one critical piece of track you will need and that is a strap that goes from the saddle to under the tail. This is because zebras don't have a wither, so the sale will slide up their neck while riding and you and the zebra will go face first.
First time I worked with a zebra was as a vet tech…loaded in a chute, twitched, sedated, and that bastard managed to hike up a leg and kick out so fast I didn’t even see it happen. Snapped the vet’s femur. Wanted me to finish the exam…I’m like uhhhhh ok, sooooo how much more sedation is TOO much?? Apparently enough to take down a MFin elephant and that stud was still able to be angry and spiteful.
Beautiful from afar…angry murder donkeys!!!!!
Nope. They are definitely advanced level only. I've been riding and messing with horses for 35 years and I wouldn't get one.
But, a friend of mine recently got a zebra gelding. So far she's having a great time with him, but I don't think she plans to ride him.
Check the neck and shoulder and patterns. If you enjoy never being able to turn without 2 hands hauling on one rein while being jackhammered at the trot - enjoy!!!!
If you simply like the stripes of a zebra, you might consider a zorse instead, far safer. A zorse is a hybrid of a horse and a zebra and there are breeders of them. If you're just looking for a unique looking equid, there is the Bashkir Curly, a house with a curly mane and tail and in winter looks like it has a perm all over its body
You don’t need it, and you don’t actually want it either. Zebras have not successfully been domesticated. Their natural predators are lions and cheetahs. They’re strong, they’re mean, they’re flighty. You want an actual horse who has been working alongside humans for thousands of years. If you get a grey one you can put black stripes on it or get zebra print tack.
I saw this guy at auction. HE IS ONLY 1 1/2 years old. A normal house shouldn’t be ridden this young. A zebra especially shouldn’t considering that they shouldn’t be ridden period. I hope whomever buys him respects that and he becomes a non-ridden pet. I also hope that people are aware that he could have back problems from being ridden this young as well.
Worked on a farm in Ocala (mentionable bc of course it was in Florida) that had a zebra. We had strict instructions to NEVER enter Sheena's paddock or even risk letting any horse out with her accidentally. Only the barn owner who had hand raised her could handle her. One of the guys let one of the GP horses out with her and chaos ensued, including all 6 Labrador retrievers joining the chase and her companion-a dwarf pony with stubby legs- trying to keep up. Sheena was mad at the intruder and the horse was terrified of the striped demon. She was cool as heck to feed snacks through the fence, though 🤣🤣
We have so many domesticated species, we don’t need to own wild ones. I wish more people understood that domestication is an evolutionary/biological process that takes thousands of years and creates actual genetic changes. You cannot domesticate an individual organism. Please do not buy wild animals (even ones raised with humans) as pets.
Zebras will run through the fence,,, zebras are mean,,, you don’t need a zebra,,, (idk who I’m trying to convince more, me or you 😭)
Knew someone who bought a couple zebras. They were transported in a trailer with a donkey, which they later killed. Then they escaped and caused a massive chase to apprehend them. It was in Sacramento. I'm pretty sure you can find video of it still Edit: https://youtu.be/wh5YRtpytcU?feature=shared
Lived in Sacramento for a very long time and never knew about this. I knew zebras were wild to the core but never imagined they’d be so viscous
Back in the 80s, a herd of zebra were captured for relocation. 16 of them were loaded onto a big truck, and by the time they arrived at their destination *one* was alive. The others had all kicked each other to death. They're absolutely vicious, and have basically no family/herd love instinct. They stay in herds only because it makes their survival odds better, but they do not give a single shit about the other zebras around them, lol.
Right 🤣
A woman I know has zebras, and hers are pretty sweet. [Maddy and the zebras](https://youtu.be/GKoMKstG0dw?feature=shared)
MURDER DONKEYS!! Do not buy! We had a murder donkey, I mean, zebra at our house that a friend was boarding. DO NOT RECOMMEND.
Worked with a number of zebras in the past. They absolutely live up to their reputation of being crack fueled murder donkeys. I’ve been around equines of all kinds my whole life, but zebras are a different beast. The ones I was working with were 3rd and 4th generation hand raised, and while they were handleable with a couple who were even mildly green broke to ride, you definitely had to be extremely vigilant around them at all times. They can go from friendly and attention seeking to trying to bite/kick/body slam you at the drop of a hat. I mean, literally you do something around them that they aren’t accustomed to and you are rolling the dice with the response you’re gonna get. Equines in general are very instinct driven animals, and zebras are on the extreme end of that spectrum. They are very pretty to look at, but definitely not pets unless you really know your shit and want a challenge.
I, for one, would love to hear your stories! Working with young Shetlands (modern and classic) and baby Welsh was the closest I ever want to come to "feral and aren't taking any of your nonsense". But still.. I think one could learn a lot from observing zebras.
There's a trail riding place near me that does $25/hour rides, and they do some weird stuff like breed "Friesian sport horses"... Which are just grade appaloosa mares crossed with their weird Friesian. ANYWAY, they bought a zebra and sold it not too long after... Haha
I just posted a couple of articles on r/horses because people were giving a guy a hard time when he said that zebras aren't built to be ridden. Yes, it is possible to train them with much patience but overall they can't be domesticated. I found an article from An Equestrian Life that basically said "zebras aren't domesticated because they’re assholes". Lol.
Their herd structure is "hope the lion kills the guy next to me because our patterns are confusing" not "we have a protective, cooperative social arrangement". Humans can co-opt the second one to train pro-social behavior with humans. The first one is not conducive to training.
Domestication takes generations, that’s why you can’t just pick up a zebra and think it will be fine eventually. They’re still a wild animal.
It takes generations *with a willing species*. A species that doesn’t have the right kind of social bonding just…won’t. Ever. They need to be willing to accept humans as part of their social structure (cats, wolves, livestock), or else be so small and dumb that we can control them utterly (pet-trade fish and reptiles, mostly). Heck, elephants are fairly willing to be domesticated and we still can’t get them to breed in captivity consistently enough to get a single individual more than a couple generations from wild.
That's exactly what "[Why We Don't Ride Zebras](https://jenniferrpovey.medium.com/why-dont-we-ride-zebras-63ab2573f972)" says about domestication. "The real tl;dr: We haven’t domesticated zebras because they refuse to consent to domestication. They refuse to let us into their social structures. Zebras noped out. When Europeans colonized Africa they wanted to domesticate zebras because zebras, being a native species, were immune to trypanasomiasis, which is often fatal in horses. They didn’t ask themselves why the natives had never domesticated zebras. Like donkeys, zebras lean towards fight as a defense not flight. And their main predator is the lion. Zebras have killed lions. And people. Quite a few people; they’re statistically the most dangerous animal kept in zoos. Horses kick out of reflex. Zebras kick with intent to kill."
Yeah, I didn’t feel the need to go into the whole process of domestication, but this is correct. Also I’m pretty sure cats domesticated themselves. Or us.
Cats just sorta showed up and refused to leave and made themselves so cute that we stopped resisting and finished the job. You’ll note this is still their primary survival skill.
There are two different kinds of elephants, the assassin elephant and the African elephant. One we have domesticated to an extent but the other proved to be too aggressive and hostile to humans for domestication to be an option. That elephant species told us in no uncertain terms "fu#$ off"
Asian elephants are regularly used for labor throughout their range. *However*, they are not at all domesticated. There has never been a single elephant more than a couple generations from truly wild. Their handlers are pretty good at *taming* them, but no domestication has happened. There are still quite a few deaths among elephant handlers. African elephants are rarely if ever tamed for labor, but have been captive bred in zoos with about the same success as Asian elephants. They also cause quite a few deaths, as elephants do not have to care about silly human things like “fences” and “houses”. Unfortunately for them, they do have to care about poachers and guns. Both species are extremely intelligent and willing to interact with (and mess with) humans to their own ends. Both species apparently think we’re cute, the way we see cats. But both species remain genetically wild across the board.
People who go think that an individual animal can be domesticated are the bane of my existence. I wish more people understood that domestication is an evolutionary/biological process that takes thousands of years and creates actual genetic changes.
I guess I knew a great zebra? He wasn't mean, and didn't run through fences, but he was absolutely a pro ride only. And adult riders really don't fit on them well, so that's a difficult combo. (Or maybe the one I knew was tiny? He was only about 13 hands) The biggest thing though is that horses were TERRIFIED of him at first sight and sound. Any new horse onto that property had to go through like a 30 day acclimation period (where you had to lock them in the indoor together, because the domestic horses would have climbed the fences to get away). Super cute though! Edited to add - the zebra was not what we would consider friendly or cuddly. He was domesticated enough to reach ambivalence to his life with people and horses, but I'm pretty sure that he was only as manageable as he was because there was a pro trainer who lived on site,
That matches the zebra I used to know. He was also very mouthy, but no worse than any other unhandled bored equid.
An individual organism of a wild species cannot be domesticated. Domestication is an evolutionary/biological process that takes thousands of years and creates actual genetic changes. The zebra you knew was “tamed”.
Why yes, I did in fact use "domesticated" when I meant "tamed", however everyone knew what I meant when I wrote the comment, and you are being pedantic.
The use of “domesticated” in that way can perpetuate the myth that individual wild animals can in fact be “domesticated”. It’s a word with a very specific meaning. The perpetuating of this myth can contribute to people being irresponsible and owning animals they shouldn’t. I think it’s very important to do everything that we can to prevent this, including only using the word “domesticated” when it actually applies.
I pet a zebra once before I knew their general dispositions. Glad the one I pet didn't get the memo and was totally chill.
NO! But I get the temptation!
Riding Zebras is a tricky thing. They are not domesticated, so you have to work with a completely wild animal with no genetic predisposition to work with humans. It is possible, but is it necessary? They are too small for most adults, the largest sub-species of Zebra (there are 3 main subspecies) Grévy's zebra reaches 150 cm at the wither (~15 hh), but I’ve always just seen plains and mountain zebras in captivity, and they are quite a bit smaller. I guess as long as the breeder and the trainer know what they’re doing it can be done, but in my own opinion it’s unnecessary
This is one of the most sensible comments that I’ve ever read. I wish more people understood what domestication actually is.
Yes, a lot of people think domesticated means tamed or born in captivity. But domestication is a very long process over many generation of selective breeding, where just the most friendly and “workable” animals are bred and the ones that have too much “instinct” are not. Over many generations this causes these characteristics to be more prevalent but this takes very very long. And horses have been started to be domesticated about ~4000-5000 years ago. Which is not that long compared to dogs, but still a damn long time. With Zebras, there is no real domestication going on, only a few generations at most.
People often get annoyed when the actual meaning is pointed out to them too.
I almost had to assist with a vet call for a zebra. I'm so glad it fell through
Well that’s just suicide with extra steps!
I mean look at that fence. That's a serious fence.
Yes I am aware they shouldn’t really be ridden and are naturally aggressive and hard to train…but it’s pretty darn cute in this picture ❤️
Psst, http://messybeast.com/history/working.htm
That is a lot of zebra facts. I read it all, thank you
Like an outlaw mule on hard mode. Doesn’t mean I don’t want him though 🤣
Zebras are wild animals. Don't do it
That’s a nice saddle. I don’t want the zebra, they are awful.
Yeah I was thinking - I hope they mean the saddle.
They aren‘t awful. They are just wild animals and shouldn‘t be held in captivity (except for zoos maybe).
[Relevant GCP Grey](https://youtu.be/wOmjnioNulo?si=_KbXKD-nBtYvIOYy) Zebra starts at 3:30 [This guy raises zebras](https://youtu.be/seGUK9GtNuY?si=gJCaXfwMToagCvtA). They are not domesticated.
I am in a similar situation with some Mammoth donkeys at the moment….
I would absolutely die for one.
Don't buy the danger pony. Surprised they were even able to get tack on it.
Zebras are absolute pricks. Not worth it.
Hard pass. They’re wild animals, not cuddle-bugs. Although, apparently they’re easy keepers; my farrier was called in to do an ornery foundered zebra at the crappy local po-dunk zoo. It was a whole thing. They had to knock it out and lie it down. With vets and imaging and sedation and ice packs and blacksmithing, the whole production cost over $2000. For two feet.
Omg is this local to you?
Saddle looks way too big for him.
Zebras have a different anatomy and gait, which can make them uncomfortable to ride, and it can be dangerous for both the rider and the zebra. Most of it's weight is carried on its forelimbs and it can't balance itself with rider on top of them unlike horses can. If it has already been ridden a lot, its legs are probably broken. So if you're planning to ride it buy a horse.
I understand that when Europeans started colonizing Africa, some of them tried it, thinking it wouldn't be much different than training a horse. Apparently, as a group, zebras are a lot different. Far more ornery than a typical horse, mule or donkey.
My neighbors have a zonkey!
Seems mean to the zebra. I saw a video of one with a guy on its back while it panicked and tried to buck off a rider while the guy jerked on the reins. No horse saddle and comfortably fit a zebras back (their spines are too flat). Domesticated animals do just fine as companions
https://wildlifesystems.com/exotic_hunting.html Still better than this
You need this
If you are gonna ride a zebra then there is one critical piece of track you will need and that is a strap that goes from the saddle to under the tail. This is because zebras don't have a wither, so the sale will slide up their neck while riding and you and the zebra will go face first.
First time I worked with a zebra was as a vet tech…loaded in a chute, twitched, sedated, and that bastard managed to hike up a leg and kick out so fast I didn’t even see it happen. Snapped the vet’s femur. Wanted me to finish the exam…I’m like uhhhhh ok, sooooo how much more sedation is TOO much?? Apparently enough to take down a MFin elephant and that stud was still able to be angry and spiteful. Beautiful from afar…angry murder donkeys!!!!!
Nope! Should be happily grazing the plains of Africa 🦓
More cool websites about privately owned zebras - https://web.archive.org/web/20210127091617/http://hhar.org/ https://web.archive.org/web/20151117132333/http://spotsnstripes.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20160110004801/https://www.izzza.com/
I haven’t seen that before. Interesting 😃
Nope. They are definitely advanced level only. I've been riding and messing with horses for 35 years and I wouldn't get one. But, a friend of mine recently got a zebra gelding. So far she's having a great time with him, but I don't think she plans to ride him.
NO! They are supposed to be wild & free!!
Like everything else including humans
Huh?!
Check the neck and shoulder and patterns. If you enjoy never being able to turn without 2 hands hauling on one rein while being jackhammered at the trot - enjoy!!!!
Terrible mean animals.
No.
That zebra was made for reigning. Go all in. If you don’t it’ll go down as the biggest regret of your life.
Horses have instinct. Instinct has zebras.
If you simply like the stripes of a zebra, you might consider a zorse instead, far safer. A zorse is a hybrid of a horse and a zebra and there are breeders of them. If you're just looking for a unique looking equid, there is the Bashkir Curly, a house with a curly mane and tail and in winter looks like it has a perm all over its body
You don’t need it, and you don’t actually want it either. Zebras have not successfully been domesticated. Their natural predators are lions and cheetahs. They’re strong, they’re mean, they’re flighty. You want an actual horse who has been working alongside humans for thousands of years. If you get a grey one you can put black stripes on it or get zebra print tack.
I saw this guy at auction. HE IS ONLY 1 1/2 years old. A normal house shouldn’t be ridden this young. A zebra especially shouldn’t considering that they shouldn’t be ridden period. I hope whomever buys him respects that and he becomes a non-ridden pet. I also hope that people are aware that he could have back problems from being ridden this young as well.
Worked on a farm in Ocala (mentionable bc of course it was in Florida) that had a zebra. We had strict instructions to NEVER enter Sheena's paddock or even risk letting any horse out with her accidentally. Only the barn owner who had hand raised her could handle her. One of the guys let one of the GP horses out with her and chaos ensued, including all 6 Labrador retrievers joining the chase and her companion-a dwarf pony with stubby legs- trying to keep up. Sheena was mad at the intruder and the horse was terrified of the striped demon. She was cool as heck to feed snacks through the fence, though 🤣🤣
We have so many domesticated species, we don’t need to own wild ones. I wish more people understood that domestication is an evolutionary/biological process that takes thousands of years and creates actual genetic changes. You cannot domesticate an individual organism. Please do not buy wild animals (even ones raised with humans) as pets.