Why don't people ride Zebras?

Question

People ride horses and race them, people also ride camels, donkeys etc. Why not do the same with Zebras? I'd love to see a Zebra race in the Grand National wouldn't you?

Answer 1

They are not easily tamed.  Horses have been bred over thousands of years to be domesticated; they've been selectively bred based (at least partly) on their temperment.

It's like the difference between dogs and wolves.  Wolves are not exactly recommended for pets because they are just much more wild. But they are the domesticated dog's wilder cousin.

Zebras, although not technically horses, are part of the Equus species.  Zebras CAN mate with horses (the result is called a zorse, or some people spell it zhorse.)  Some people are actually breeding zorses as a novelty, for the stripes.

Answer 2

Good Question...

Maybe because they are smaller than horses?

Answer 3

I don't think Zebras like it like horses

Answer 4

Because they arent as fast as horses, so they could never win in an actual horserace.  Unless they have a sperate zebra circuit, where its all zebras against each other...but it would probably hurt your eyes to watch with all the stripes.

Answer 5

I'm pretty sure I have seen someone ride a tame zebra on a TV programme.  But as they are usually wild animals it aint gonna happen often!

Even more difficult to ride a porcupine.

Answer 6

they are notoriously  difficult to tame,much harder than it is to train a wild/feral horse.it has been done occasionally by circuses and individuals,i have seen some old photos of people who trained them.it requires a lot of patience.of course,it isnt easy or readily available to buy zebras in any case!have u seen "racing stripes?" its a cute kids movie about a zebra who becomes a racehorse.they showed it on a long bus ride thru mexico,and i must say,i quite enjoyed it-u may wish to see it as well!

Answer 7

one thing the jockey wouldnt need any colors!

Answer 8

Zebras are wild animals, however i do know a friend who lived in S A who used to ride one but it is very very rare.  

He had horses there too and the stallion zebras there are quite dangerous as they are territorial and tend to attack horses ridden into their territory.

Would be interesting to see a zebra in the national tho, however i don't think it would stand much of a chance as it is half the size of the average thoroughbred.  Maybe if you introduced a lion into the equation tho LOL.

Answer 9

And why on the same subject don't we eat them too?

Answer 10

haha this is so random and does not answer your question, but ever since I was able to talk it has been my dream and goal in life to someday have a zebra completely trained.. haha I wanted a Zebra ranch.

Answer 11

that would be awesome...!

I'd go watch that... and I hate horse racing...

Answer 12

Zebras are much smaller than horses, therefore not capapble of carrying as much weight as horses do. They are also quite difficult to taim. Plus they are not as smart as horses

Answer 13

Zebras are not as tameable as their close relatives.  They have have specfic temperment that wont allow humans to train them.  Even when raised as captives they still have "wild" like temper. Possisble because they evolved in afrcia close to their human predecessors.

Answer 14

Your right it's only a horse in pyjamas.

Answer 15

Zebras like most African animals can be very hard to domesticate, that is why they have never been used by any culture for domestic work on a large scale.

Answer 16

Simply being a smaller animal has nothing to do with the ability to carry weight, so the other answerer is wrong about that one.(There are plenty of pony breeds that are capable of carrying large adults,without either injury or excess effort.)  The main reason people don't ride zebras is the one everyone else has mentioned- namely, that they are wild animals that have never been successfully domesticated and accustomed to human contact. A zebra is like a horse that has never been around humans, even indirectly, and most zebras undoubtedly will ( and have) behave as though they are being preyed upon. The first relationship that ANY human being EVER had with a horse was as FOOD. They were prey to us for thousands of years before we finally began to see that horses could be used for other purposes. ( In some places in the world, unfortunately, this is still true- horsemeat is still a delicacy throughout  most of Europe and the Pacific Rim.)  The relationship between horse and human NOW is a unique one in many ways, because it is the only relationship in nature where there is a relatively weak but intellegent predator controlling a much larger and stronger prey animal, the horse. When it comes to horses, the reason humans can ride and control them is because we can and do think for them- we don't allow them to think for themselves. This is NOT true with a zebra- and it likely never will be. Someone riding a zebra in the Grand National or any other race is just a fantasy. It won't happen anytime soon, despite what the movie people in Hollywood would have us believe with the release of the movie "Racing Stripes"'. Zebras are not made to race, anymore than camels or elephants are.