CAN ZEBRAS BREED WITH HORSES?

Can zebras bred with horses?

Zebras may look like a sturdy, stripy horse, but if they were inclined to do so could they breed with a regular horse? Well modern horses are believed to have originated around south-eastern Europe, while zebras are clearly from Africa. Yet despite their separate evolutionary lines zebras are related closely enough that they can successfully breed with horses, donkeys, wild asses etc. to produce a foal known as a zebroid.

Zebra horse hybrid - Zorse

A zebroid is the generic name for all zebra hybrids. The different hybrids are generally named using the portmanteau convention of sire's name plus the dam's name.

There is generally no distinction made as to which zebra species is used. It has been found that when zebras are cross-bred, they often develop some form of dwarfism. Breeding of different branches of the equine family, which does not occur in the wild, generally results in infertile offspring. The combination of sire and dam will also affects the offspring.

A zorse is the offspring of a male zebra and a female horse. This cross is also called a zebrula, zebrule, zebra mule or golden zebra. The rarer reverse pairing is sometimes called a horbra, hebra, zebrinny or zebret. Like most other animal hybrids, the zorse is sterile.

Zebra donkey hybrid - Zedonk

A zony is the offspring of a zebra stallion and a pony mare. Medium-sized pony mares are preferred to produce riding zonies, but zebras have been crossed with smaller pony breeds such as the Shetland, resulting in so-called "Zetlands".

A zonkey is a cross between a zebra and a donkey, although 'zonkey' is not the technically correct name for such a cross. The most commonly accepted terms are zebonkey (or zebronkey), zebrinny, zebrula, zebrass, and zedonk. Donkeys are closely related to zebras and both animals belong to the horse family. Zonkeys are very rare. In South Africa, they occur where zebras and donkeys are found in proximity to each other. Like mules, however, they are generally genetically unable to breed, due to an odd number of chromosomes disrupting meiosis.

For related articles click onto the following links:
ARE ZEBRAS BLACK WITH WHITE STRIPES OR WHITE WITH BLACK STRIPES?
CAN ZEBRAS BREED WITH HORSES?
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WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A RAT AND A MOUSE?
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WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A ZEBRA AND A HORSE?
ZEBRA