Are Zebra's Equines?

Are Zebra’s Equines?
A Horse a horse my kingdom for a horse cried Richard 111 in Shakespeare play, but would he has been happy with a Zebra?
Probably not! But I certainly think they deserve a place in the Equine Heritage Exhibit.
The criteria of the project are to locate - photograph and document all the animals that make up the equine population in Alberta.
Like all the other breeds of equines I have had the privilege of photographing they too came from somewhere for some reason. Plus they are very cute, this mother and daughter pair live at the Calgary zoo and form part of the African savannah display, they have a lovely enclosure that they share with a few ostriches and the giraffes during the summer Although the zebras have adapted very well to our cold snowy winters and only stay inside if the temperatures dip below minus 15.
They will be bred to a stallion in the spring and hopefully produce some new members to the herd. Mona Keith - their keeper explained that the male zebras are very territorial and aggressive so they are kept separately at another facility and the mares will only travel to visit him at breeding time. I was curious to know how keeping a zebra would differ from keeping a horse, Mona explained – Not much really they eat the same foods are wormed regularly and have their hooves trimmed, she did say their temperament was more like a donkey than a horse, and at the zoo they do not try to tame or handle the “wild” animals. But as I followed Mona into their enclosure to take pictures and get up close and personal, they were just like all the other equines I have photographed - inquisitive and sure I was bringing them a treat. Did I mention incredibly cute.
If you would like to see more pictures of the zebra’s and track the progress of the Equine Heritage Exhibit please visit my web site www.imagineitsold.ca and click on Heritage