So in other words, no, you couldn't ride a giraffe like a horse. They aren't very fast, and they aren't endurance runners, so horses got them beat. From The Legend of Tarzan: George Washington Williams: What I wouldn't give for a horse right now. First, there are only about 20 breeders in the United States who offer giraffes, and most of these will only do business with zoos and other institutions. Over short distances, giraffes can run at speeds up to 35 mph. Lions love to try to bring down a giraffe, because if they do, it is a massive meal that can last sometimes up to a week! I don't think their backs are designed to carry a load, unlike horses. The average man can reach a stirrup and boost himself up onto a horse, but you're going to need a rope ladder to get up to a giraffe. As someone who did vaulting as a child (think gymnastics on horseback), there are many ways to get up onto a horse mostly unassisted, but a giraffe is just too tall. Well that depends on your and the giraffes size hehe, The giraffe is related to deer and cattle, you wouldn't ride a deer, and it's pretty rare you see someone ride a cow, you can ride a bull though, so the conclusion would be that: Yes you can ride a giraffe if you have the balance and it's strong enough and you light enough :) I'm not sure, but on the cover of a book I had as a child, " The Bobbsey Twins and the Tagalong Giraffe Mystery" they had one of the twins riding a giraffe… Your friends will think you’re really cool for taking professional giraffeback riding lessons. What practical use could that serve? Favorite Answer. Also, I believe they are very skittish creatures, who are difficult, if not impossible, to tame. 1. Also, due to their impressive height, you would almost never be able to bridle a giraffe, which would help you control and steer it. You can and will do it. Why is it people don't ride zebras? The first thing you should know about owning a giraffe is that even getting one is very difficult. Can you ride a giraffe? Relevance. 1 decade ago. You can, however, ride a zebra, cow, wild african ***, and any other hooved animal that are closer relatives to the horse. Thanks to a super-easy giraffeback riding adventure made for “regular people” with little or no experience around giraffes, you will quickly discover that learning to ride a giraffe can be fast, easy and fun. Since an adult male giraffe weighs a lot more than a person does I think it's fair to assume that the animal's back is strong enough to be ridden- but building the saddle would be a challenge. Answer Save. Like a horse or a bison? Same as the reasons you can't ride a … Tarzan: Horses kick to escape. Overview of giraffes. 10 Answers. Zebras continue until you are dead. You know they're tall—the tallest mammals in the world, in fact—but here are 20 other fun facts about these leggy herbivores. Just a thought, but if daddy giraffes didn't ride mummy giraffes there wouldn't be any baby giraffes. Anonymous.