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Week Three, 80miles, Aberfeldy to Balerno
Marv is developing his own fan club, hardly
surprising, but nonetheless entertaining to observe. He has
a captivating personality when he chooses to display it with
many endearing traits. Amongst other things, a nudge lets
you know he does not like to be ignored and that he is prone
to the occasional bout of sulking. We know he likes carrots,
loves apples and goes crazy for clover. But one of the foremost
things Grant has learnt about Marv is that he loves company.
In the past three weeks Marv has befriended both the two legged
and the four legged, including chickens, geese, cows, sheep,
other horses, oh, and of course a fair few humans, and it
is two legged humans that are responsible the growing fan
club.
We drove out to feed Marv on Saturday after
a bit of a lie in, Grant has been waking at about 05.00 most
mornings since starting the ride, so a lie in is apparently
07.00, I am told you get used to it but am yet to be convinced.
It is amazing though, how much you can get done when you get
up early and how stunning the day is before everyone else
wakes up. Anyway, we drove out to Balerno, parked the car
to be met by four children whose first question was to ask
if I was the person riding the television horse. I had to
admit that it was not me and pointed them towards Grant whose
head was buried in the car sorting out Marvs feed. Alas they
were not interested in him just the horse. They followed us
to the field where Marv was staying, bombarding me with relentless
but engaging questions about what he liked to eat, who his
friends were and how lovely he was and that they had seen
him on TV. Marv graciously accepted the attention but was
really more interested in the food that had just appeared.
This, it seems, is getting to be the norm; I wonder how many
other horses have fans as far away as the USA and Australia.
Marv’s TV debut was somewhat unscheduled,
thanks to a last minute phone call form Ken. Scotland Television
sent a camera man to meet Marv and Grant at the Forth Road
Bridge. Later they had a great interview with a somewhat nervy
reporter whose experience with horses was probably limited
to betting on the Grand National. (The interview can be seen
in the press
section)
The crossing of the Forth Road Bridge was a monumental occasion
for two reasons. It represented the end of the North of Scotland
and its success was never guaranteed. Prior to embarking on
the ride, Grant spent many hours searching the net for information
about others who had partaken in a long distance ride. Whilst
looking he came across numerous interesting stories but one
book in particular told how the rider had crossed the Forth
Road Bridge in 1982, some 25 years previously.
After reading this Grant made the choice
not to worry about the crossing until he actually reached
the northern side of the bridge. We had crossed the bridge
on numerous occasions and at no point had we seen a sign that
prohibited horse crossing. Prior to making the crossing Grant
had made arrangements to borrow a trailer and had Rob, a great
friend of his, waiting in the wings in case he was unable
to proceed. As the morning dawned there was an obvious tension
in the air, the weather decided to up the stakes by intermittently
raining and blowing a gale. Neither a particular help when
attempting to cross a mile long, heavily used bridge. Grant
set off in full wet weather gear with Marv dancing at his
side, as usual he was aware that something was different and
was on his toes as soon as they left Dunfermline. They arrived
at the bridge at 10.30 and set off without any problem. It
was only on approaching the half way point that the pair were
passed by a bridge patrol who didn’t seem to amused.
He was met on the other side by the police who took his details
as apparently there was a bylaw which said no livestock on
the bridge – a sign stating this would have been helpful!
They had crossed the bridge; Marv was the first horse to cross
the bridge in 26 years and probably the last in the foreseeable
future.
Grant’s next point of call was at Mace, the Scottish
office of the company where he works. They had given him the
time off to partake in his trip and are also strong supporters
of Cancer Research UK, one of Grant’s chosen charities.
The stop over was an opportunity for a catch up and photo
call.
It was now on to the A8 and along some back roads through
Heriot Watt University campus and on to a field in Balerno.
After a fairly intense morning, the sight of a long grass
verge was greeted by both horse and rider with enthusiasm.
Marv took the chance to stretch his legs with a good long
canter and for once did not need a ‘speedy stick’
to encourage a bit of speed. Both enjoyed the experience,
although following the canter with a long trot was probably
greeted with less enthusiasm by Marv.
The speedy stick, in case you are wondering, is Grants ingenious
way of speeding Marv up when he is in a particularly idle
mood. It simply involves breaking off a long stick and snapping
a piece off when you want a bit of speed. Marv hears the noise
and you instantly get a short turbo boost. Grant found to
his detriment that attempting the above manoeuvre when the
branch was still attached to the tree was not the best move.
On doing so he was not in the position to keep Marv in a straight
line and to the shock of an oncoming pedestrian Marv decided
to go sideways instead of forwards.
Marv and Grant reached the field at a reasonable time and
were met by Rob, who drove Grant home to Edinburgh. The two
of them turned Marv out into a field divided into four sections.
In one particular section they spied a stunning, 3 year old,
bay Clydesdale who we later discovered was called ‘Goofy’.
Standing at just over 17 hands he really was quite spectacular
and Grant fell for him immediately. It was easy to see why.
Charlene, whose field we were using told us that he was an
absolute gentleman and was ridden by her husband Campbell.
Personally, I too was rather taken with the slightly gangly
long legged horse with a wobbly lips and a cheeky personality.
Now I am aware that I have failed to recount much of the
past week other than part of the last day and the growth of
Marvs fan club. Week three has been a total contrast to the
others and allowed Grant to catch up and stay with a variety
of family and friends. A welcome break from the many nights
spent in the cold and rain on hard ground.
I left Grant in Aberfeldy, very early, on a sunny Monday
morning. He had just fed a happy looking and well rested Marv.
The saddle had been re-jigged to allow for Marvs changing
shape, and Grant had washed his kit and re-packed everything
he needed the night before so both horse and rider were very
relaxed. We had driven the route the day before and had seen
the field where Marv would be staying. It was ideal and next
door to the hotel, where we also left a few bags of feed.
The pair set off on a relatively easy day, taking them through
Aberfeldy and up a long steady hill till they reached a small
loch. The terrain changed dramatically from lush green valley
to pine forest over the course of the day leading them into
Amulree and the hotel. Marv was settled into his field with
a 3kg feed and some carrots and apples. He is averaging 6
– 7kg of food a day which he consistently eats off the
ground. Present him with a bucket and you can guarantee it
will have nudged it or stuck his hoof in it within a minute.
Grant spent the evening catching up with Rob, (as mentioned
before) a great friend and fellow rider who had flown in form
the States and driven up to meet him a few days previously.
Tuesday started well with a big breakfast for both horse
and rider before departing and unlike further south the weather
was great. The 5 ½ hour ride to Gask presented the
pair with stunning scenery and they managed to get a few good
trots in throughout the day. Grant still walks the majority
of the day with Marv so it must have been great to enjoy a
decent part of the day on horse back. Marv had a brief hiccup
mid day, when he decided a blue tractor and trailer were very,
very scary. This resulted in Marv snorting, spinning round
and disappearing down the road at a rate of knots with Grant
hanging on for dear life. Marv swiftly realised he was making
a complete fool of himself and recomposed himself with equal
speed. Grant’s initial annoyance then turned into amusement
as he watched this great big horse act like an absolute fool.
This was also to be the day of the mystery carrot trail. As
Grant turned a corner on the road he found, to Marvs delight,
a carrot on the floor followed by yet another and another.
This weird conundrum carried on around numerous corners until
the pair were confronted by a giant mountain of carrots and
parsnips in a field on the side of the road. Here’s
the irony, Marv was scared of the carrot mountain!
Although the day was hot the pair managed to make good time
and arrived at John and Helens’ in the early afternoon.
Their house had a paddock literally at the end of a beautiful
garden with a stunning view. After being taken to the pub
for pre dinner drinks and just before dinner Grant attempted
to hose Marv down. Marv acted like a total baby, anyone who
did not know him would think that he was terrified of water
and not just being an idiot. My worry of Grant not eating
enough is fast becoming a thing of the past. Three helpings
of homemade lasagne and two helpings of rhubarb crumble hardly
constitute starving.
After yet another big breakfast the pair set off, crossing
the A9 before passing through a pretty village called Dunning.
In order to make a quick visit to a shop for a drink, Grant
had to tie Marv up. This often ends in disaster as Marv enjoys
playing snap the rope. He rarely finds a bit of binder twine
that he cannot snap, which makes tying him up and leaving
him a bit like a game of Russian roulette. He need not have
worried though, on hearing that Marv was outside everyone
inside the shop evacuated with bags of apples to say hello.
He was also given a very kind donation by an American lady.
The roads leading to Cleish are fairly hilly and took the
best part of the afternoon .Grant walked the majority of it
with Marv. They watched a herd of Highland cows having their
hooves clipped. I have no doubt that Grant watched whilst
Marv made various dives for grass. Over the past few weeks
Grant has learnt that Marvs approach to grazing actually has
a degree of consistency to it. That is apart from the impromptu
dives for grass where there is no guarantee of what will end
up in his mouth. He generally favours slightly wet grass with
a wide leaf and medium growth, not the long thin and wispy
variety. Dandelions are also a popular choice although Marv
will pass them over in the pursuit of the Holy Grail –
Clover. This he can spot from a distance and once found will
devour with fervour leaving nothing in his wake other than
a grass equivalent of stubble. He also has a penchant for
branches or leaf kebabs as they have become known, named so
because Marv literally bites off more than he can chew and
relies on Grant to pull the stick out of his mouth leaving
only the succulent leaves.
That evening Marv, Grant, Maisie and I stayed with Grant’s
cousin Rory and his wife Laurie. Yet again Marv was literally
outside the front gate of the house in a great field with
plenty of grass. He was doubly happy as the location allowed
him to keep an eye on the various people coming and going.
Maisie was ecstatic when she saw Grant and Marv and was out
the window and around Marvs feet before I had time to open
the door. We were joined by Dennis and Jean who are very good
family friends, and Jamie (Rory’s brother, Grants cousin)
his wife Sarah and their three year old daughter Esme. We
had a brilliant evening which ended up in us all going to
visit Marv in order to give him his final feed for the night.
Esme sat on Marv who was a total gentleman. Numerous pictures
were taken before we left him munching away with Maisie for
company.
Grant left Rory and Laurie’s armed with a huge packed
lunch and a well fed horse. The pair headed up hill, through
some deep forest eventually reaching Townhill and then on
to Dunfermline where Grant was staying with family. Marv was
staying locally in a nearby farm. It turned out to be a relatively
short day and once Marv was settled Grant had time to go and
buy 3 more bags of food for Marv and to take care of some
personal admin.
Maisie and I joined him later for dinner, along with Ann,
Ken, Rob and Mark who is responsible for this amazing website.
I know he will not read this before posting it, so, if anyone
out there is looking for an amazing website designer at a
reasonable cost get in touch.
It was a brilliant evening, great food, good company and
good wine. Amongst other things we toasted the 330 miles that
Grant and Marv had covered. Grant managed to persuade Ken
to get his guitar out and he played a variety of songs from
James Taylor to The Eagles, a fitting end to the evening.
And that brings us neatly back to the weekend. Grant spent
a fair amount of it sleeping, but did manage to catch up with
a few friends. Marv was visited on numerous occasions and
always with a few kilos of his favourite food ‘Dodson
& Horrell’s staypower Muesli as well as the obligatory
apples and carrots. As usual he has made friends with the
horses in the neighbouring fields and will no doubt be somewhat
reluctant to leave them on Monday morning. Tomorrow will be
interesting as Marv will be on home territory and will be
fairly close to where he was stabled. He has come along way
over the past three weeks and no one would blame him if he
thought he had finished. Unfortunately unbeknown to him he
still has rather a long way to go before he will take a well
earned sabbatical.
Many thanks to the people below who kindly provided grazing
and shelter for Marv and for some of those nights a bed, food
and good company for Grant. He would also like to thank all
those along the route for their good wishes, encouragement
and sponsorship.
Monday – Amulree – Janice
Tuesday – Clathy – John and Helen Haley
Wednesday – Cleish – Rory and Laurie Grant
Thursday - Dunfermline – Ian and Pat Harley
Friday, Saturday and Sunday- Balerno - Charlene and Campbell
Taylor
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