[princesspiggy]

http://www.zebrasrus.com/zebras-for-sale.html


 

[Bionic]

Not cheap either but interesting

[princesspiggy]

they selll them at 30 days old, thats quite sad.

[sabrina]

Is this going to be another fashion animal. Poor babies, 30 days is far too young to be taken from mum.they are wild, leave them where they should be. 

[jaykay]

Oh, poor babies, 30 days is ridiculous  Who are these people 

They're wild animals, so I thought the received wisdom was that they could be 'trained but not tamed'?

Domesticated animals, even mad ones like my Shetlands, have had centuries of breeding out the wildness.

[Victorian Farmer]

princesspiggy haw about rain deere the rent at christmas is massive the caingorm rain dere herd lots of shopping centers

[bangbang]

Typical yanks!

Are they black with white stripes? or white with black strips? 

[darkbrowneggs]

Arggghhhh     that is the second time I have lost an answer when trying to us the spell check       I thought I didn't know how to spell tsetse fly - but I did.  Anyway what I wanted to say was. 
 
Whilst I wholeheartedly disapprove of keeping zebras when there are so many neglected horses ponies donkeys and mules in the world, there is a long standing tradition of using zebras as working animals
 
Captain Hayes writing at the end of the 19th C. in Points of the Horse says
 
I once undertook to saddle and get ridden an old entire zebra... whose feet were becoming gradually deformed, on account of the animal not permitting them to be pared down. In less than an hour after I had turned it into the ring of Frank Fillis's circus, which was then in Calcutta, I had its feet rasped down to a proper level, and had it saddled and bridled for the first time in its life. It was then ridden by Steve Margaret ( a brilliant Australian rough-rider) and by my wife. This was certainly the first occasion a lady ever rode this variety of zebra, which had the reputation all over the world of being unridable. Although I was able quickly to teach it to carry its unwonted burden quietly, I made far less progress in giving it a "mouth" during the two days I had it in hand, than I would have done in half an hour with any wild horse in the Dominions caught for the first time on a "run"; the reason being that the zebra's neck was so stiff and strong that I unable to bend it in any direction. I soon taught it to do what I wanted in the circus; but when I rode it outside it took me wherever it liked. In fact, I had not the slightest power either to stop or guide it' ('Points of the Horse' by Captain Hayes, writing ca. 1899)
 
And one particular type were particularly valued in areas with tsetse fly populations as they, unlike horses, were immune
 
Lots on interesting old piccies here of all sorts of unusual working animals -
http://www.messybeast.com/history/working.htm
 
And if there are any typos - bad luck 

[shetlandpaul]

please remove this thread. really do before Rachel sees it. being serious selling a foal at 30 days what are they doing. do the yanks not have welfare groups.

[princesspiggy]

is selling at foal at 30 days old, and presumably still on milk, much different from selling dairy bull calfs at one day old?
it would be purely down to tameness and cute factor tho.

[jaykay]

No, it isn't. That's a pretty rotten practice too. Any taking very young animals off their mothers for our own benefits I don't like, though I know it's standard practice in many dairy operations.

I sometimes think we separate ourselves too much from animals and treat them on a whim, like playthings or machines, 'commodities' rather than other, not so different, sentient beings. I don't have a problem with respectful farming or pet keeping - but respectful and necessary it should be.

[sokel]

There is someone in Co Durham had a Zebra for years.

[jaykay]

Do they ride him/her?

[sokel]

Do they ride him/her?

It is broken to ride but its been a long time since it was ridden as the kids are now adults

[jinglejoys]

Charlie the Zebra competing in driving  wish they'd take the blooming blinkers off he'd go much better!