Re: RC: zebras

[Lif Strand <fasterhorses@gilanet.com>]

Oh, Virl Norton could train zebras all right!  He was the right man for 
it.  But I don't remember what they looked like well enough to hazard a 
guess as to which kind of zebra they were - apparently that makes a big 
difference in trainability.  All I remember is the pleasure at seeing 
someone driving (at a good clip) two equines in a harness parallel to the 
road on the other side of a fence.  And then the double take and shock when 
I realized that they were zebras!

Maybe the reason Virl didn't ride those zebras was related to why he 
wouldn't ride mules any more either.  Maryben, you know about that.  Do you 
know the story about where/why he got them in the first place?  Virl being 
a "great" of endurance history, seems to me this is Very Important 
Information to know (there will be a test in the morning).

Anyway, zebras being wild animals and not all that closely related to 
horses, as someone else has already pointed out, means lots of extra 
input.  Kind of like training hippos, which are also related to 
horses.  Sure it can be done, but why, aside from the novelty?  If I wanted 
to actually *finish* an endurance ride, I'd use an equine that gave me the 
best chance, not one that lowered my chances.  But I'm no wild animal 
trainer, so you can click on delete any time!

Lif Strand
Quemado NM  USA
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