Zebra black and white at birth. Plains and mountain zebra foals are protected by their mothers, as well as the head stallion and the other mares in their group. Grévy's zebra foals have only their mother as a regular protector, since, as noted above, Grévy's zebra groups often disband after a few months. Attempts have been made to train zebras for riding, since they have better resistance than horses to African diseases. While occasionally successful, most of these attempts failed due to the zebra's more unpredictable nature and tendency to panic under stress. For this reason, zebra-mules or zebroids (crosses between
Cape mountain zebra mountain zebra was once was regarded as a separate species from Hartmann's mountain zebra based on taxonomic evidence, but recent genomic evidence has led to the two populations now being reclassified as subspecies of "Equus zebra". Like all zebra species, the Cape mountain zebra has a characteristic black and white striping pattern on its pelage, unique to individuals. As with other mountain zebras, it is medium-sized, thinner with narrower hooves than the common plains zebra, and has a white belly like the Grévy's zebra. The Cape mountain zebra differs slightly from the Hartmann's subspecies, being stockier and having longer ears