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Free-roaming Horse Cheers Up German Town During COVID-19 Lockdown

VOA News

   Every morningawhitehorsenamedJennyis seenstrolling freelythrough her
   Frankfurtneighborhood.

   Her owners,AnnaandWernerWeischedel, say the
   25-year-old,free-roamingArabian mare, is brightening up the coronavirus
   lockdown formany people intheFechenheimareaofFrankfurt-am-Main.

   "She goes wherever shewants,she has no limits. She can travel further
   away than we can, because we have travel restrictionsat the moment.
   Jenny has 'Corona-Freedom', everything is allowed," Werner said.

   For more than a decade Jenny hasroamedsolo throughthe town, taking the
   high streetor trottingalong the tram line to a nearby fieldnibbling
   forhours on patches of grass.

   "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," Annasaid.

   "Everyone knows her, no matter where she goes. People always greet her
   nicely, especially now in times of coronavirus, they are happy to have
   someone to cuddle. Peoplehave tostay apart from each other, but Jenny
   sometimes has 10 children around her. Adults too come out of the tram
   and hug or pet her," Werner said.

   Germany, like many othercountries,has closed schools, playgrounds and
   many businesses to curb thespread of the coronavirus.

   Ithas slowlybeguntoeasesome lockdown measures,butpeople areurged to
   observe socialdistances and limit theirsocial interactions.

   Butthe guidelines do not apply when it comes to interactingwith Jenny
   and people can still snuggle with her.

   Sinceresidentshave in the past called the police to report an
   unaccompanied horse, Jenny wears a note around her neck that reads: "I
   haven't run away, I'm just out for a walk."

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