Comments about Russell Ranch prior to 2010:
2006-12-12 17:42:49 A veterinarian described it as a true HEALTH HAZARD. The standing water is frequently 10 inches deep. The owners make NO effort to drain the water and let it sit until the sun evaporates it in summer! The paddocks are the lowest part of the ranch, and fill with disgusting water that fills with mosquitoes. According to a veterinarian Russell Ranch Stable is a WEST NILE VIRUS HAZARD in addition to the thick mud being terrible for the horses legs, pulling off shoes etc. —LeslieRedhead
2006-12-12 17:43:08 This is the only ranch I know of that demands money from horse owners for horses chewing on wood. Horses normally chew a bit on wood, all stalls at all barns that have exposed wood edges show chew marks. This barn is over 20 years old and the barn owners demanded money from me to repair the wood stalls "chew" damage from the past 20 year of horses. Beware this scam. These people are very, very poor and they want you to pay for the repairs and unkeep on the building itself. Look around through the wood stalls, decide if you want to be charged hundreds of dollars to restore the stall to new even though the wood has been chewed on for YEARS by other horses. NO OTHER BARN DEMANDS THAT HORSE OWNERS PAY FOR NORMAL CHEWING DAMAGE OF WOOD IN OLD HORSE STALLS. There are also loose herding dogs on the premises, they BREED them! The managers acted like they planned to fix the paddocks very soon, but when asked about a date they admitted it would be years before any repair work would be started —LeslieRedhead
2006-12-21 09:53:04 If I wasn't currently boarding my horse at Russell Ranch, I'd be concerned based on these statements. However, they certainly don't reflect my experience. In the past few years, turnouts have been re-fenced, one barn has had its aisle concreted and the floors re-done, new tack lockers are now in another barn, secure grain storage has been added, and now one of the round pens is getting new footing. It ain't a new barn, but the atmosphere is friendly, all non-ranch dogs are required to be leashed, and the ranch dogs are only loose when the owners are available to control them. It took me 5 years to find a place in Davis where I felt my horse was safe and I was comfortable with the people, and this is the place I liked best. —MountainRose
2006-12-27 18:25:11 Why can't you folks ("Mountain Rose") use your real names? It's hard to take you seriously when you don't even use your real name. —GrahamFreeman
2006-12-27 23:22:57 I have to disagree - whatever their user names, I think they can be taken seriously because they back-up their opinions with details, rather than simply making hit-and-run comments. —DukeMcAdow
2007-05-29 02:17:38 Mountain Rose did not contradict the statements about standing water, the thick mud pulling off horseshoes, the paddocks that have received NO WORK despite multiple empty promises, she only states the things that have been fixed (yes those things are new, but that isn't enough to make up for the other health hazards is it?). Mountain Rose wrote that the dogs were not loose and unattended...."the ranch dogs are only loose when the owners are available to control them"— this is just plain false, these dogs were frequently loose herding dogs under no one's control when no one was home. One entire side of the barn (the one with the hay in it) is unusable because the mud is so deep and they had no plans to fix it, the wall of the indoor arena (the smaller one in the hay barn) literally fell over and let a horse out. They scraped off the black widows from the ceiling while all the horses were underneath and just let the spiders fall on the horses causing numerous welts and bites!! This is not a safe barn, add in the weird billing rip offs (Mountain Rose did not address how abnormal it is for a barn over 20 years old to attempt to bill someone for all old chew damage to the existing wood!) and I must not recommend this barn. Oh and they said that they would not allow plywood between stalls to protect against kicking because they cared more about keeping the appearance "neat" or "uniform" than the damage to the horses legs. Most barns allow plywood between stalls because it dramatically reduces the injuries to neighbor horses. Just one kick can ruin your horses entire career. —LeslieRedhead
2007-11-02 11:57:42 As a long time boarder at Russell Ranch I feel compelled to comment:
I am astonished that such blatant untruths can be published on this public forum. Opinions are one thing, but statements that come across as rooted in fact when they are actually unsubstantiated seem only intended to be malicious. (I also make this assumption as many of us boarders are aware that Redhead Leslie is one of the only boarders ever asked to leave Russell Ranch).
Please, if leslieredhead, whom, as noted, refuses to even use her real name, (but it easy to follow her history of this kind of behavior on this wiki as well as other forums) is going to insist on making such potentially harmful comments at least have the sincerity to back them up. (sorry DukeMcAdow, I disagree that details translate to fact, especially details that are, again, easily proved to be untrue).
Examples: What veterinarian made such a statement about the health hazard status? - If this were indeed true, then said veterinarian should: a) have no qualms about admitting who they are b) as a vet should be seriously concerned enough then to make a complaint to the County Health Dept.
Dogs loose on property I have never seen unattended dogs on this property (over a period of many years). My guess is anyone could stop in at anytime at this ranch and never see unattended dogs. Again, the proof is in the fact. Redhead Leslie should own up and provide time and dates.
Unsafe Conditions: Hmm, I find this barn to be more safety conscious than most. My opinion, of course. I suggest any potential boarder visit to make their own assessment. Redhead Leslie doesn't appear to be very objective.
Owners are Poor: Another one I would have to ponder. I certainly don't know their financial status, but I'm impressed that Redhead person does...perhaps she could enlighten us on the financials of her past and current boarding hosts.
I could continue, but I don't really have any interest in going tit for tat with Redhead person. I just find it disappointing that someone, clearly out of spite, chooses to make potentially damaging statements about a facility that I (and others) feel is a great place to board with owners that are very invested in providing excellent care to the horses in their charge.
In summary, I ask that readers please contact the owners for a personal tour of Russell Ranch before coming to any conclusions. I think you will be quite pleased with the outcome.
Sincerely,
Angela Silva —Silva
2009-04-11 09:51:21 I absolutely love this place. Based on the below comments, and from what I've heard at the ranch itself, this leslieRedhead person is a crazy psycho that really is just out for revenge. Maybe the place wasn't as well managed in the past, but nowadays everything is clean and in its place. It may not be the grand prix of stables in terms of appearance, but the managers and boarders are awesome, and the instructors are definitely worth their weight in gold. It is worth checking out, at least. —Jeserah
2009-08-27 22:11:23 I have been at Russell Ranch for almost three years now and I love it there. I have boarded a many barns over the years, including Pebble Beach Equestrian Center (an AA hunter/jumper barn) and this barn is by far the best. It's a small barn but there are 2.5 arenas and lots of turnouts. The owners are amazing, the border community is great, and I feel that my horse is safe there. Only during the dead of winter is there any standing water but show me a place without standing water during winter and I will give you $20. As far as I have been at Russell Ranch there has been no terrible mud in the turnouts.In fact, when the turnouts get a little muddy the owners lock them so there is no safety hazard. As for the dogs, there are a lot of dogs some nights but there are never any loose dogs. What I'm really trying to say is that I wouldn't board my horse anywhere else and I think that Russell Ranch is a quality barn with quality people. —Merritt
