What happens when a donkey meets a zebra?

They look like two halves of a jigsaw puzzle. The stripey legs of a zebra combined with the head and body of a donkey. But Zed and Zee, who are almost three-years-old and stand 14 hands high, are Britain's first zebrass, one of the rarest hybrids in the world. Two donkeys called Penny Jenny and Zengara gave birth to the half-sisters whose dad was a black and white grey zebra called Cracker Zack.

"They have the beauty and grace of a zebra combined with the attitude and confidence of a donkey," said their owner Angie Allison, aged 40, who is opening an international mini-horse exhibition at Cobnash, near Leominster, Hereford and Worcester. "They combine the best facets of both animals. They are very athletic and love to play and perform, but the wildness is still there. I've been amazed by them and it's fascinating to have another animal."

Mrs Allison, who has worked with horses all her life, says that she has fulfilled a childhood "to have a zebra hybrid". She intends to teach Zed and Zee - who are believed to be the only zebrass in the world outside the United States - simple dressage routines and put them on show at the new centre.