Lazy BD Donkey Farm
Little Equine Name Fun
The animals classified as equines are Horses, Donkeys and Zebras. There are Mini horses and Ponies. Also, there are Mini donkeys, Standard donkeys and Mammoth donkeys. The female horse is a Mare and the male is a Stallion. The Donkey (American name) is the same animal as a Burro (Mexican) and Ass (biblical or European). The male donkey is a Jack and the female a Jenny, also spelled Jennet. A Zebra is a Zebra. Baby Horses, Donkeys and Zebras are fillies (female) and Colts (male). Both fillies and colts are referred to as Foals.
When species are close enough, people can crossbreed them to make hybrid animals. Hybrids inherit the best (and the worst) of both parents. Pairing male donkeys (Jacks) and female horses (Mares) results in a hybrid equine called a Mule. When a female donkey (Jenny) is bred to a male horse (Stallion) the resulting hybrid is called a Hinny. This kind of crossbreeding is always a result of human intervention. You will never find a case of donkeys and horses mating in the wild (think creation, not evolution). Even if this were to occur naturally, you will never find a heard of mules, as hybrid animals are sterile. Male mules are called Horse Mules, John Mules, or Jack Mules, while female mules are known as Mare Mules or Molly Mules. Young mules are called just like young horses. A young john mule is a colt, while a young mare mule is a filly.
When talking about horse breeding and horse pedigree, the father is referred to as a Sire, and the term used for the mother is a Dam. As we said, the mule is a hybrid species with a donkey father (sire) and horse mother (dam). Zebroids are the hybrid offspring of a zebra mated with a horse or donkey. So, then, what is a zebra/donkey hybrid called? That would be a Zebrass. What about a horse/zebra hybrid? Well, that is a Zorse, of course!
May I say also that the Lord Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem before being crucified. It was, indeed, predicted in Zechariah 9:9 that our savior would ride into Jerusalem "Lowly and riding a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey". We can read where this prophecy was fulfilled in Mathew 21:7. Also, there are more than 30 other references to donkeys that are part of the scripture.