This is an animal story quite like any other
Jenny the white horse does take a daily constitutional around the city of Frankfurt, Germany each day, sometimes even stopping to kiss babies along the way.
The Associated Press spoke with the 25-year-old Arabian mare’s owner, Werner Weischedel, and he confirmed that the social media sensation has been going on a 12-mile stroll for roughly 14 years.
“Everybody knows her,” the 79-year-old told the AP.
It turns out, Jenny can be trusted.
She’s a good horse, avoiding pedestrians and joggers and never holding up traffic.
Of course, that doesn’t stop visitors from being startled by the sight of her and calling authorities.
That’s why the mare wears a note around her neck that reads:
“My name is Jenny, I didn’t run away, I’m just going for a walk.”
It turns out Jenny isn’t the only “free-range” animal on Weischedel’s farm either.
He opens the stable doors each morning to let his horses go wherever they want.
It just so happens that Jenny prefers the vegetation out in town.
Can’t lock her down
Jenny was a sight for particularly sore eyes during lockdown last year.
“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 Weischedel.
Like clockwork, her husband heads out each day on his scooter to go find Jenny, who follows him back to her stable without fuss.
No one can spoil her fun
Of course, they are always naysayers (pun totally intended) and some think that Jenny poses a risk to both herself and to others, even though she’s never had an incident in over a decade and a half.
Her veterinarian Maren Hellige disagrees, however, noting that she “seems very relaxed and satisfied.”
Going viral
Her story went viral after the mare’s affairs were covered in the German publication FNP and photos were posted on Facebook by a man named Keith Anderson.
His post has received nearly a million reactions and has been shared over 649k times!
It reads, in part:
“Every morning in Frankfurt, Germany, you might catch a glimpse of Jenny, a horse who goes on a long walk every morning, all by herself. She has been taking the same route every morning for 14 years, ever since her owner, now 79 years old, became unable to ride. 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.”
Caring for animals
Those who can appreciate the beauty of the scenario loved the story and photos and said they wished they lived closer (or had their own communal wandering horse).
It seems that Jenny now has fans all over the world!
Many comments on the post were about how wonderful the people in the town were for caring for and about her.
“Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant! Oh, my holy stars, BRILLIANT!I love this! I love Jenny! I love her beautiful owner! I love the darling sign he gave her, and I love the entire community’s responses to her! This just warms everyone’s and my heart up!” gushed one poster.
We couldn’t agree more!
Watch her on her daily walk below, she truly is an entertaining part of this small town!
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