The production of zebra hybrids is nothing new. An early example can be found in an 1853 volume of the Naturalist's Library which depicts the hybrid of a zebra and a donkey. Zoos in London and Paris successfully produced several documented instances of zebra hybrids during the 1700 and 1800s, but these were more of a curiosity for exhibition or for private ownership by Lords and Counts. Formal attempts were not seriously taken until the early 1900s when explorers in Africa experienced heavy losses of their domestic horses and donkeys to endemic diseases that the zebra were naturally resistant to. Hybridization began in hopes of obtaining an animal resistant to disease, yet more tractable than the full blood zebra. Before hybridization was ever fully established, efforts were dropped with the onset of mechanization and arrival of the automobile.

In early times, many difficulties experienced by zebra hybrid breeders outside of Africa involved capturing and shipping enough zebra for their programs. Since these early experiments involved wild caught zebra, many were lost due to accidents, injuries, capture stress, as well as changes in climate, feed and poor adaptation to confinement. When restrained, zebra cannot flee or defend themselves and may become stressed to the point of shock, resulting in death. Furthermore, a mature zebra stallion will not readily cross-breed with another species of equine, especially if he has already bred mares of his own species. Even if a foal was obtained, many early breeders failed after becoming discouraged when the young zebra stallion failed to produce a foal, not realizing that the zebra was still too young. Lack of communication between breeders and poor documentation during those early times meant new breeders had to relearn techniques by trial and error over and over again which only served to further aggravate early attempts at zebra hybrid production.

With modern times, in this age of communication, breeding techniques have improved dramatically. It is now understood that if a zebra's training is not started when it is young, it may be so wild that it is difficult to work with safely and will probably never be able to develop the trust in its handler necessary for a successful breeding program. Similar to production of the traditional mule (donkey x horse), it is necessary to condition the zebra sire by raising it from foal-hood with the species of equine he is intended to breed. It is also understood that zebra mature sexually between 4 and 6 years of age, much later than their domestic counterparts, so patience is of the essence. It should be pointed out that, since the male to female ratio of zebra foals is roughly 50:50 and only one stallion is required for a herd of 10+ mares, it is only logical to use the excess male zebra for production of hybrids, retaining all female zebra for the production of more pure zebra.

Renewed interest in the traditional mule as well as a growing market for exotic animals has provided the window of opportunity for zebra hybrids to gain in popularity. Zebra can be crossed with either horse or donkey; but, due to a mismatch in chromosomes, their offspring are always sterile like the traditional mule. However, they also tend to grow larger than either parent, are easy keepers with respect to feed, and exhibit what is referred to as hybrid vigor, being extremely hardy animals. To make matters more interesting, the zebra hybrid usually inherit their coat color from their dam with the striping pattern of their sire superimposed over the pigmented areas of the coat. Zebra hybrids out of paint or pinto mares will show the striping pattern only within the solid colored patches whereas hybrids out of appaloosa mares tend to have striped coats with a white blanket or snowflakes over the rump...some roaning may also occur. Generally, breeders would want to avoid using animals with the grey-factor gene which may end up diluting or obscuring the striping pattern altogether as the animal ages. A true black animal may produce a hybrid foal that has a striping pattern like a "water mark" (or the spots on a black leopard) that is only visible from a certain angle or under proper light. The possibilities extend further when breed type comes into play when using a gaited horse, draft horse, mammoth donkey, etc. Equally important is the selection of the zebra sire...

There are three species of zebra: plains, desert, and mountain zebra. Each has a different striping pattern and comes from a different range within Africa, although some ranges do overlap:

The plains zebra, also referred to as the common zebra, are the most numerous with an estimated population of 300,000 that roam the Savannah's of Eastern and Central Africa. They have shorter heads, smaller ears, and are more pony-like than their relatives, standing from 11 hands (44 inches) to 13 hands (52 inches) at the withers. There are four geographic races, or sub- species, of plains zebra: Grant's and Bohm's Zebra (Equus burchelli boehmi); Selous' Zebra (Equus buchelli selousi); Damaraland and Chapman's Zebra (Equus burchelli antiquorum); and, Burchell's Zebra (Equus burchelli burchelli). There is a north to south trend in leg striping on the plains zebra. Northern plains zebra (Grant's and Bohm's as well as Selous' Zebra) have legs that are striped to the hooves. Chapman's Zebra have incomplete leg striping that may extend almost to the hooves while the Damaraland Zebra leg stripes may extend only to the knee and hock. The Burchell's Zebra may have no striping at all below the elbow and stifle except for a few traces. This trend is accompanied by reduced belly striping as well...the Burchell's Zebra may have a completely unmarked belly except for the ventral stripe. The northern plains zebra have thinner manes and tails than the southern races and, in the northernmost range, foals sometimes shed their manes along with their foal coats and never regrow them. Grant's Zebra are an altitudinal variation of Bohm's Zebra found in the more upland habitats.

The desert zebra, proper name Grevy's Zebra (Equus grevyi), are a threatened species with an estimated population of 15,000 in their native habitat which is the hot, dry desert fringe areas of northern Kenya, southern Ethiopia and three isolated parts of Somalia. There are no subspecies of the desert zebra and they are the largest of the three types of zebra standing 13.2-14.2 hand (54-58 inches) at the withers. They have a large head, rounded ears, and are more mule-like in appearance. They have numerous, narrow stripes that are vertical and very close-set that cover the body and the vertical croup stripes are arranged concentrically around the root of the tail. The belly is white and the legs are striped to the hooves.

The mountain zebra are an endangered species with an estimated population of only 5,000 in their native habitat which is the mountain ranges along the southern most tip of Africa. There are two subspecies of mountain zebra: Cape Mountain Zebra (Equus zebra zebra) and Hartmann's Mountain Zebra (Equus zebra hartmannae). The mountain zebra are smaller and more donkey-like, standing no more than 12 hand (48 inches) at the withers. Mountain zebra, like plains zebra, have broad stripes but their bellies are white. They have a flap of skin, called a dewlap, on the underside of their necks and horizontal bars in the pattern of a grid-iron over their croup. The legs are completely striped to the hooves and the hair of the spinal stripe grows forward from croup to withers.

Our beloved Illusion was a Grant's Zebra, which is one of the four common subspecies of plains zebra. He was purchased as a foal in 1995 from James Cox of Athens, Louisiana, who is a breeder of zebra and zebra hybrids. Illusion was selected for his bold, black and white stripes that extended all the way to the hooves as well as for his easy-going disposition. His dam also displayed this same gentle nature...without any formal training or handling, she would calmly eat grain out of a bucket held by James.

Illusion, call name "Zeebs", was registered for breed with the ADMS in their Zebra Hybrid and Bloodstock registry (#ZBS-3) and for color with the Brindle & Striped Equine International registry (#ZEB-1). He was halter broken and would even allow Heidi to climb aboard with Matt at the lead line for a walk about.

Although zebra can be tamed and trained, they will always retain their wild instincts and cannot be handled as if they are simply "a horse with stripes". They are not as calm and responsive as domestic horses nor do they accept discipline and restraint as readily as domestic horses. Riding and driving are forms of restraint totally contrary to the instincts of equines. A wild zebra perceives restraint as a life-threatening situation, so we were extremely pleased with the results we achieved with Illusion.

Unfortunately, Illusion's life ended on April 21, 2000, in a pasture breeding accident that could have occurred be it zebra x horse or horse x horse. Illusion just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. We feel terrible that we could not have foreseen nor prevented it from happening, though we take consolation that he lived a happy, albeit short, life here on the ranch. He grazed on green pastures, drank from fresh water, never had to flee a predator of the wild, and was never mistreated in captivity. We never even used a "stud chain" on him (something commonly used to control horses at halter), just a soft cotton lead rope with a bull snap on the end. Most of all, he was very much loved! His memory will live on in our hearts forever...