In Frankfurt, Germany’s Fechenheim district, there’s no such thing as a talking horse named Mr. Ed.
But, the city CAN lay claim to a lonely little Arabian mare named Jenny who has been taking herself for walks around the neighborhood for the past 14 years.
And why would she do that? Because no one else will!
One of Jenny’s owners, 80-year-old Werner Weischedel, is no longer able to ride her due to his age. So, every morning he opens the gates to their yard so the horse can go on her daily walk through the neighborhood.
She happily trots off on her own, exploring the roadways, railways, and back alleys like she owns the place!
The Arabian mare has been a fixture in the Fechenheim district, a green part of Frankfurt near the bank of the Main River, for more than a decade.
All the locals know exactly who Jenny is, and they really look forward to seeing her every day.
Keith Anderson writes on Facebook:
“She enjoys greeting all of the familiar faces along the way, and she stops and gets treats and pettings from some of her favorite humans. The locals treat her like a celebrity and happily clean up after her.”
But, just in case a tourist might think she’s a runaway pony, there’s a friendly note attached to her halter that says otherwise.
“My name is Jenny, I didn’t run away. I’m just going for a walk. Thank you.”
Werner also included his cell phone number, should Jenny need someone to ring dad on her behalf for some extra lunch money.
Even though she’s totally unsupervised on her walks, this sweet girl has never caused a lick of trouble in all the years she’s been quietly ambling around town.
The police department said that they used to receive up to 20 calls a day from people who weren’t familiar with Jenny’s special arrangement with the city, but now that she’s famous the frantic calls have dwindled to about one per week.
Tram drivers are also quite used to sightings of the mare, and will make a conscious effort to slow down anytime she gets a wee bit too close to the railroad tracks.
‘Cause being the one responsible for making glue out of a beloved local celebrity ain’t no joke!
Jenny’s owners don’t have any hard and fast rules against hugging or petting the mare. In fact, they encourage it!
This horse has been given ‘corona freedom’ by her owners and everything is allowed!
“It makes us so happy to see Jenny, we miss her when we don’t pass her on our walks,” quipped 61-year-old Gaby Marxen.
The photo below, which was taken before COVID, shows Jenny getting friendly with one of the newest little foals to make the rounds on her block.
Before 2020 forced the world to go into lockdown, this lucky Arabian mare had free “rein” to run around and do as she pleased.
But with social distancing rules in place, Jenny now plays a much-needed, therapeutic role in her community.
In the past, a cuddle with her was just plain fun, but now it’s a dream come true for folks who are desperate for any kind of contact. She’s quite the friendly neigh-bor when it comes to making people happy.
“People seem to notice her more because they have more time. A lot of passers-by stroke her, maybe because they are missing some human contact,” said Anna, Werner’s husband.
Thankfully, all of these hugs and kisses from all of her human friends haven’t affected the 25-year-old pony’s health.
In fact, Jenny is – for lack of a better phrase – as healthy as a horse!
She also doesn’t seem to be showing any signs of anxiety over her unusual, bohemian lifestyle. And why would she? Jenny has more freedom to roam around town and munch on random greens than her human counterparts do!
Some people don’t know that Jenny actually used to be part of a duo with another horse named Charlie back in the day.
Werner and Anna would proudly ride the horses through town, with two white shepherd dogs trotting alongside.
“We went through Fechenheim as a white caravan. For almost 15 years,” said Werner.
Sadly, Charlie passed away a few years ago, and Jenny was left without a bestie. Still, she insisted on going for a stroll – even if it was all by her lonely self.
Jenny’s leisurely rambling ends every day at around 4:00 pm. That’s when Werner catches up to the mare on his electric scooter and lets her know it’s time to go home for dinner.
“And then she slowly heads back,” says the retired flower shop owner.
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