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Donkeys, horses, and zebras are all members of the family "equus" - that is to say they are all Equines. Horses are the most familiar equines to most people. Some people don't realize that donkeys and zebras are also equines, but more like a "Cousin" to the horse. You can breed horses together, and get a horse. You might cross two breeds of horse - such as an Arabian and an Appaloosa - and get a horse with characteristics of both parents (say a dished face, high tail, and spotted blanket). You can now breed the ara-appaloosa colt to any other horse (even a Clydesdale) and still have horse offspring. Okay, so it might look a little strange and not have the most balanced conformation in the world, but still a horse. (Have you looked at some of the wild Mustangs today? Drafters are in some herds - the colt from the above matings might just be found in a Mustang herd!!!). Horses are usually classified by Breed (meaning they adhere to a breed standard and also have recorded background and pedigree appropriate for that breed type). Horses not having the proper records and paperwork might still be 100% Arabian in purity, but without pedigree and registration to back this up, they become "Grade" horses.
Donkeys in the United States are classified by size, not by breed, since many breed records have not been kept, and the original foundation breeds were crossed over generations to produce a desired size or body type. A very few small gene pools of pure breeds (with studbook records) do exist for some breeds, but most are outside the USA. There are many reasons for this, but the registries in existance for Donkeys are trying to encourage recording of pedigree.
Horses have 64 chromosomes (except the primitive Przewalski Horse, which has 66). Donkeys have 62. When you cross these two animals, you get a hybrid. Mules are the result of crossing a jack (male) donkey with a mare (female) horse. Mules can be either male or female - males are Horse mules, females are Mare mules.
The opposite cross is called a hinny - a stallion horse to a jennet (mare) donkey. Horse hinny, mare hinny. Both mules and hinnies are anatomically normal, but sterile, since their chromosome count is 63.
Zebras are also equines. There are 3 species, with various subspecies below that. The most familiar are the Plains (Grants, Chapmans, Damaraland) and the Grevy's. Some people may have heard of the Quagga, and extinct sub-species of Plains zebra. Cross a zebra stallion to horse mares, and you get a striped (sterile) hybrid called a zorse. Breed the zebra stallion to a donkey jennet and you get a zedonk (zebrass).
Mules! They're stubborn! Donkeys are slow and dumb! A striped horse! What a neat pet!
HOLD IT!!!!! Please don't get caught in these stereotypes!!! We're going to show you that the old views of the mule and donkey as stubborn and unintellegent are simply not true.
And we realize that although the zebra hybrid sounds like a neat critter, they are certainly NOT for everyone. |
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Equine Basics |
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Thalia, a mare mule in France. Her sire is a donkey, her dam a draft horse. |
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Links and Info |
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American Donkey & Mule Society |
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Love Equines |
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Longears.com |
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Geocities - get your own page! |
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For more Info contact: |
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Name: |
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Leah Patton |
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Email: |
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[email protected] |
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Family: Equidae |
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Horses |
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Asses |
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Zebras |
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Jack X horse Mare = MULE (male or female)
Horse Stallion x donkey Jennet = Hinny (Male or female) |
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Zebra Stallion x donkey Jennet = zedonk (zebrass).
Few cases of reverse crosses, most with genetic difficulties.
Zebra stallion x horse mare = Zorse, zony (Zebroid). |
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Zorse Zebrass |
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Mule Hinny |
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Male donkeys are Jack, Females are Jennets. Castrated male equines are geldings (horse, donkey or zebra) Male zebras are stallion, females are mares. Male mules (which should be castrated) are called Horse mules or Johns, or gelding mules. Female mules are called Mare mules, or mollies. Zebra hybrids are Mares or geldings if Zorses, geldings or jennets if zedonks. |
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Home |
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This page still under construction! Thank you for your patience! |
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Kids, - you are welcome to use any of the information from ANY of ADMS's pages for your school projects. All we ask is that you list ADMS as your source. Good luck with your papers! |
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More General Information More information about Miniature Donkeys Books to Order About Donkeys |
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Fun information about Equines A very Rare Breed of Donkey More about Zebra Hybrids |
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Equine Basics Lingo
Miniature Donkeys Standard Donkeys
Mammoth Jackstock
Longeared Hybrids - Mules and Hinnies
FAQ about Showing and Registration
FAQ about Color COLOR Definitions
Spotted Asses Breeding for Spots
Photos. Mule Coloration
the ADMS Zebrass?
Links Hee Haw Books
Fun Transporting
Mini Donks at Calgary
Tail-less donkeys? TACK FIT/SADDLES
Sample Sales Contract |
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