Summer Writing Contest Winners by Saddle Up! Magazine

2nd Annual Saddle Up! Magazine

Summer Writing Contest Winners Children and teens in three different age groups entered our Summer Writing Contest for a chance to win a gift card to be used at a retail location of their choice. The stories submitted were entitled: “What’s The Difference Between A Horse and A Zebra?” The staff at Saddle Up! Magazine chose two winners from each age group, first and second place respectively. Winners are chosen by originality and by fact content. Congratulations to all winners within these pages, you’ve done a great job! All entries will receive a free one year 3rd class mail subscription to Saddle Up! Magazine. Thank you all for your submissions!

1ST PLACE ~ AGE GROUP 13-16 ~ $75 GIFT CARD

Julie D., Age 15, Lennon, MI At first glance, you would probably shout “Anyone Can Tell!” And I have to agree that the most noticeable difference between a horse and a zebra is that zebras have stripes and horses do not. But take a closer look. Even though the horse and the zebra are of the same family, there are still some major differences here. I think the main thing that strikes me most about the difference between horses and zebras is that horses come in a broad range of colors and sizes, while zebras are always about the same size and always come in black and white. But there are also a few smaller reasons that also set them apart. First of all, a zebra is slightly smaller than an average sized horse and the bone structure of both are different from each other. For example, a zebra’s structure is more pony-like, being half leg and half body in height, while most horses are longer in the leg than they are in the body. The tail bone is also different. A horse has a short tail bone with long flowing hair growing from the dock of the tail. A zebra has a tail like that of a mule with a longer tail bone that is solid halfway down with hairs growing from the distal end of the tail. The shape of the head differs also. When viewing from the side, a horse’s head is shaped slightly like a funnel with the nose being smaller than the rest of the head. A zebra’s head on the other hand is shaped more like a rectangle with the nose being almost the same depth as the rest of the head. And a horse’s muzzle can vary in color, either being pink, brown or black, while a zebra’s muzzle will always be black. Also, a horse’s ears are slightly smaller than those of a zebra, a zebra having larger, rounder ears that are slightly dished for exceptionally good hearing. A difference can be seen between the manes too. A horse’s mane is more prominent, being longer and always drooping over the crest of the neck. A zebra’s mane is less prominent, always being short and sticking straight up as though it were cropped. Another point is that the anatomy of the horse makes them use speed to run away from predators. They have a well developed sense of balance and a powerful flight or fight instinct. A zebra can also walk, trot, canter, or gallop but they are generally much slower than horses, but they have great stamina that helps them outpace their predators. And when being chased, a zebra will zigzag from side to side, making it more difficult for the predator. And zebra’s have excellent eyesight, unlike horses that see in different shades of grays and white, zebra’s are believed to be able to see in color, and they also have night vision. One of the biggest differences is that horses are domesticated and zebras are not. Horses are easy to train for riding, driving, and working purposes, while zebras are more difficult to handle and harder to train. And this list wouldn’t be properly finished if we didn’t at least touch on the most outstanding difference. As I said, the zebra only comes in one pair of colors in one pattern, black and white stripes. A zebra relies on this vibrant coat pattern to confuse their predators. When in a herd, it is hard to tell which end is the head and which end is the tail, so the zebra has a better chance of escaping if the predator chose the wrong end. The horse does not use trick patterns but almost more of the camouflage technique, or just turn and run. So if the horse and the zebra seemed pretty much alike before, I hope you see them a little bit differently now. I love horses for their many colors, and I like zebras for their stripy print, but I’m waiting for the checkerboard horse. Julie D., Summer 2017

HONORABLE MENTION ~ AGE GROUP 13-16 ~ $30 GIFT CARD

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Summer Writing Contest Winners 2ND PLACE ~ AGE GROUP 13-16 ~ $50 GIFT CARD

Molly W., Age 13, Gaines, MI Dr. Seuss once said “There’s no limit to how much you’ll know, depending how far beyond zebra you go.” The zebra and horse are very different animals, yet look similar. One of the main differences in them is their color. While horses have a range of colors from leopard Appaloosa to mosaic, zebras only have their black and white stripes. Scientists think that the zebra’s stripes are actually used to stay cool, avoid bug bites, and are for camouflage. Zebra’s use their camouflage to hide in the grasses of Africa from their predators such as lions, who are color blind. Many may not know this, but there are only three species of zebras, the mountain zebras, plains zebras and the Grevy’s zebra. They also have many subspecies. Horses on the other hand have over 350 breeds and have very few subspecies. Zebras and horses also have quite a bit of difference in size, depending on the breed. While zebras may be as small as a pony, they are much stronger. As a matter of fact, the zebra’s kick is so strong, it could break a lion’s jaw. Another difference I never took the time to notice, is the difference in the animals tails. A horse’s tail is reasonably longer than a zebras and has a lot of strands of hair. A zebra’s tail is rather donkey-like and also comparable to a cows, it is tufted. An interesting fact about zebras is that they aren’t color blind. They can spot a lion in the brownish grass of Africa early enough to have time to run away. Zebras can run up to 40 miles per hour which is fast enough to escape the deadly jaws of a lion. However, horses can run reasonably faster. Some can run slightly over 54 miles per hour. Another way zebras stay safe or alive in the wild is by using their instincts. An example of their instincts is running in zigzags to make it hard for their predator to catch them. People have tried to catch zebras before to domesticate them and say that they are very hard to catch. When they tried to throw the lasso around the zebra’s neck, the zebra, out of instinct dodged it. Horses do not have this kind of instinct. This is why they are caught more easily in the wild and more of them are domesticated. One of the horses instincts is to be a part of a herd or to be together, they depend on each other. If you have ever had two or more horses that were kept together you would have noticed this when you took one horse away. Finally, domesticated horses usually live up to about twenty five years old. Zebras that are kept in zoos can live up to about forty years old. A very small part of this may be because of their small size (as ponies live longer than horses), but the main reason is because they don’t have to face the problems they had in the wild. When they are in captivity they don’t have to worry about a food shortage or any predators. Overall, the point I’m trying to get at is, zebras and horses may look very closely related or have similar traits, but are different in many ways. Molly W., Summer 2017 MOUNTAIN ZEBRA (equus zebra)

PLAINS ZEBRA (equus quagga)

GREVY’S ZEBRA (equus grevyi)

Mountain zebras live in hot, dry, rocky, mountainous and hilly habitats. They prefer slopes and plateaus as high as 1,000 metres (3,300 ft.) above sea level, they do migrate lower during winter. They are native to south-western Angola, Namibia and South Africa.

Also known as the common zebra or Burchell’s zebra (formerly Equus burchellii). The Plains Zebra ranges are from the south of Ethiopia through East Africa to as far south as Botswana and eastern South Africa.

Due to rapid declines in their population, they are now confined to the Horn of Africa, primarily Southern Ethiopia and Northern Kenya. There are only approx. 2,500 Grevy’s zebras left in the wild and are considered endangered.

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Summer Writing Contest Winners 1ST PLACE ~ AGE GROUP 9-12 ~ $50 GIFT CARD

Riley B., Age 11, Paris, MI The main and most common difference between a horse and zebra is the fact that the zebra has stripes. Although many zebras look like they have the same stripe pattern, each zebra has a stripe pattern as unique as a human fingerprint. Horses tend to be larger than zebras, with a zebras body looking more like a donkeys. A zebra has a mane that stands up, while a horses lies down. Their tails are also different. A horse has hair all up and down their tails, but a zebras tail has hair on the very tip, like a donkey or a cow. Zebras have a difference in ear shape. A zebra’s ear is big like a donkeys, but a horse’s ears are small and close to their cranium. Zebra’s come from different parts of Africa, and there are three types of zebras. Zebra’s used to be hunted for their meat and beautiful skins. Africans would sell the skins to market in Europe, but due to the endangering of the species, wildlife biologists and wildlife conservationists have stepped in to prevent this magnificent creature from going extinct. A zebra’s mane is striped just like its body, and if you look closer you’ll notice on the body the stripes go up and into the mane. Zebra’s hooves tend to be harder and more oval than horses. Horses can whinny, but zebras usually only bray. Zebra’s are immune to the tsetse fly bite. A female zebras gestation period is longer than that of a female horse. A zebra can make a high “barking” noise to warn other zebras that danger is coming, like a pride of lions. Zebra’s cannot be used like a horse, you cannot ride on them. So those are the different things between a horse and a zebra. Riley B., Summer 2017

2ND PLACE ~ AGE GROUP 9-12 ~ $35 GIFT CARD

Daphne B., Age 11, Metamora, MI Some might think the only difference between a horse and a zebra is the color, but there is much more than that. Like, they have different bone structures, their outside body is different, and the reasons they can’t be ridden like horses. For instance, one way the bone structure is different is a zebra has more bones in its tail than a horse. Another difference is that zebras have a shorter stiff mane. There are more differences than bone structure, like their diet. Sure, they are both herbivores and both eat grass, but when horses only eat grass, zebras will eat bushes and shrubs, when grass is not available to eat. The outside body of the horse and the zebra have many differences, one is color. A zebra has a black muzzle and a black and white coat. Each zebra has its own pattern, and like human fingerprints, none are the same. A horse’s muzzle can be pink, brown or black and its coat color can be white, gray, black, brown or multicolored. Another example of the difference on the outside body is zebras have stiffer, stockier legs and a zebra is lighter and smaller than a horse. Why can’t zebras be ridden too? Well, zebras are pretty unpredictable. They can be very aggressive and even vicious as they get older. To add on to the bad news, saddles just don’t fit a zebras body shape very well. In the past few years zebras have been trained to be domestic, but as a species it does not cooperate. In conclusion, there are many differences between a horse and a zebra, some as simple as color of a horse and a zebra and some as complicated as the difference in their bone structure or the fact that humans don’t ride zebras. Daphne B., Summer 2017

HONORABLE MENTION ~ AGE GROUP 9-12 ~ $20 GIFT CARD

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Summer Writing Contest Winners 1ST PLACE ~ AGE GROUP 6-8 ~ $30 GIFT CARD

Natalie H., Age 8, Vassar, MI Although horses and zebras are part of the equine family, there are still many differences between them. Some of the differences include their appearance, where they live and how they are used. The first difference in how they look is that horses don’t usually have stripes, but zebras do. A zebra’s tail also has a very long bone connected to its body that has hairs at the end of it. A horse’s tail has a bone too, but it’s shorter than the zebras, and it has long hairs connecting to the hindquarters. Next, horses usually have sleeker coats than zebras. Since zebras are usually in the wild, their coats are commonly dirtier than horses that have owners to groom them. In addition, horses have manes that lay on the side of their neck and a zebra’s mane sticks straight up. Unless they live in a zoo, zebras only come from certain parts of the world. Horses however can live just about anywhere. The way horses are generally used is different than the way zebras are used. A horse is usually ridden, but zebras aren’t normally trained to ride. The movie “Racing Stripes” however is a different story. Horses also have smoother gaits than zebras. Zebra’s aren’t generally ridden, so I would expect them to have rocky gaits. While most horses are tame and can be kept, trained and ridden by people, zebras are not usually farm pets. Horses are kept for pets. Horses make a different noise than zebras. While zebras bray, horses whinny. These are some of the many differences between horses and zebras. Natalie H., Summer 2017

2ND PLACE ~ AGE GROUP 6-8 ~ $20 GIFT CARD

Colin B., Age 7, Paris, MI The big difference between a horse and a zebra is a zebra is striped and horses come in many colors. A zebras mane stands up but a horses mane lies down. You can’t have a zebra as a pet. Their hooves are different shapes. You can’t ride a zebra like you can ride a horse. Zebras use their stripes to protect themselves but horses don’t have camo. There are many breeds of horses but only three of zebra. Zebras are smaller than horses. You can see a horse at a rodeo, but you can’t see a zebra at a rodeo. Zebras bray and horses neigh. You can see a zebra at a zoo, but you can’t see a horse there. So that is the difference between a horse and a zebra. Colin B., Summer 2017 AFRICA has 54 sovereign countries – the most on any continent – and is the second largest continent in terms of both land area and population. Africa spans over 5,000 miles north to south and 4,800 miles east to west and contains a wide array of peoples, skin colors, religions, and cultures, and of course zebras! Source: www.wikitravel.org/en/Africa

AFRICA

UNITED STATES AFRICA

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THANK YOU to everyone that entered our 2nd Annual Summer Writing Contest! There were dozens of submissions this year, but many more than last. It is becoming harder, and harder to select our 1st and 2nd place winners. We thoroughly enjoy this annual contest, and hopefully we can expand it to include a 3rd place in each age group next year, we definitely need one! We hope that you have had as much fun as we have learning about the differences between the zebra and the horse! Thank you, Cindy Couturier, editor WWW.SADDLEUPMAG.COM