Red Mountain Roundup, 4/5/2018

Posted on April 5, 2018 by admin

Red Mountain Roundup is a roundup of all of the things to do, places to stay, and other information to help you plan your visit to Red Mountain.

Looking for some trip-planning ideas?  Check out these itinerary suggestions!

Winter is gone!  Wait, no it isn’t!  Wait, now spring is gone and it’s summer.  Mother Nature, you’re drunk!
 http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/l/99320:4:US

Events, Places to Visit This Weekend:

Tasting fees vary by winery.  Some are refundable with purchase, some are partially refundable.  Usually fees are between the $10 and $20 range.

  • Red Mountain Trails — Wagon Rides, Trail Rides, and guided Bike Tours available.  Click here to reserve! 
  • Anelare — Mon 11a – 2 p, Thurs – Sun 11a – 5p.  Tasting fee $10.00
  • Chandler Reach — open daily, 11:00 am – 5:00 pm.  Classic Tasting: $10.00, Reserve Tasting: $20.00
    Weds, 4/11/18 — Sip and Stems.  Reserve here.
  • Col Solare – tasting room open 11 am – 5 pm Weds – Sun. 
  • Cooper – tasting room open noon – 5 pm DAILY.  Tasting fee $15.00, refundable with $200 purchase.
  • Fidelitas – tasting room open 11 am – 5 pm daily.  Tasting fee $15.00, refundable with wine purchase.  
    Sat, 4/7/18, 10 am – 11 am — Fidelitas Estate experience on Red Mountain.  info here.
  • Frichette – tasting room open daily noon – 5 pm. 
  • Hamilton Cellars – tasting room open Sun – Thurs 11 am – 5 pm, Fri & Sat 11 am – 6 pm
  • Hedges – Starting April 6th!!! Tasting room open Fri – Sun 11 am – 5 pm.
  • Hightower – Tasting room open 11 am – 5 pm Thurs – Mon.
  • Kiona –  tasting room open noon – 5 pm daily.  
  • Linda Ellis Andrews — Artist in Glass and Bronze.  Linda is a fabulous artist and wonderful person!  Make an appointment to visit her studio, you won’t be disappointed!
  • Monte Scarlatto — tasting room open 11 am – 4 pm Thurs and Sun.  11 am – 5 pm Fri and Sat.  By appointment also.  They have a 9-hole golf course among the vines, check it out!
  • Portrait Cellars — tasting by appointment only.  509-588-4534
  • Purple Star Wines — Wednesday – Sunday 11:00 am – 5:00 pm.
    Every Other Saturday, 10:00 am — Stretch & Sip.  
  • Sleeping Dog Wines — Fri – Sun, 11 am – 5 pm
  • Tapteil – Fri – Sun 11:00 am – 5:00 pm.  509-588-4460  
  • Terra Blanca –  tasting room open daily 11 am – 5 pm.  
    Vineyard Grille open noon – 5:00 pm Friday through Sunday. 
    Sat, 4/7/18, 2:00 pm — Paint Nite. 
    Sun, 4/8/18, 2:00 pm — Paint Nite.
  • Tucannon – tasting room open Fri – Sun 11 am – 6 pm, Wed – Thurs 11 am – 5 pm.  $10.00 tasting fee.  
  • Tri-Cities Events
  • Red Mountain AVA Site (info, places to stay, calendar of more events)

Places to Stay:

  • Vacation Rentals by Owner — Red Mountain has some really nice vacation rentals available for your visit.  Most of these are right on Red Mountain and visitors get a discount on their trail or wagon ride when they stay.  
  • Bella Luna House — gorgeous vacation rental offered by Tapteil winery.
  • Camping and RV — 
    • Beach RV Park – situated in Benton City — lots of pretty trees, gorgeous setting along the Yakima River waterfront, 5 minutes to Red Mountain.  If you stay here we can deliver your bike rental to you!
    • RV Village Resort – West Richland.  Easy access to Red Mountain and Richland for restaurants, shopping, and wine-tasting.  Indoor pool and spa.
    • Wine Country RV — Prosser.  Great location and amazing staff.  Really nice place!
    • Monte Scarlatto — Red Mountain.  Enjoy staying in the heart of Red Mountain!
  • The nearest hotels are located in Richland and Prosser.

Places to Eat

There are a number of chain restaurants around but here are some “off the beaten path” recommendations:

    • Red Mountain Trails  — we offer dinner on Friday and Saturday nights starting in April.  Reservations can be made here.  
    • Tacos Garcia Taco Truck — West Richland.  The best taco truck around, and I love their ceviche.
    • The Vineyard Grill at Terra Blanca — Red Mountain.  One of the only places on the hill to eat.  Beautiful views and great food and wine!
    • Hacienda del Sol — Benton City.  Large portions of great Mexican food and excellent customer service!
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Feedin’ Time

Posted on March 21, 2018 by Teresa

Every once in awhile we like to share a little “transparency” with you about the business side of things.  I’ve been working on a post about feeding because it’s one of our biggest expenses.  Enjoy.  

The basis of our feeding program is free-fed grass hay.  That means the horses have grass hay available to them 24/7.  Horses have small stomachs and loooong intestines, and are made to graze.  So, keeping grass hay in front of them is healthiest for their gut.  

The kind of hay is important.  We’d never leave a bale of alfalfa out for them for a few reasons.  Alfalfa is higher in protein than grass hay and the excess in protein can cause a number of issues — mostly excessive urination and/or joint swelling.  It’s also a pretty rich feed, so some horses will gain too much weight on alfalfa.

We’ve found that having well-stocked feed bunkers 24/7 does a lot to help with behavioral problems (food aggression), ulcers, and issues on the trail.  

With a herd of 12 horses on grass hay, we feed a little over a ton a week.  They’ll go through more when it’s cold out.  

Hay is around $220 a ton lately, so we are spending close to $1,000 a month on hay.  

In addition to the grass hay, we have Yukon who gets a special senior feed.  He’s unable to chew and swallow hay, but does well with the feed pellets and it seems to suit his gut better as well.  That costs us around $200 a month for him.  I know, it’s kind of spendy, but have you met him?  He’s totally worth it.  He gets his feed twice a day.  This is a trade-off.  We can’t just free-feed him the pellets because they are too rich and he’d waste too much.  I’d love to be able to free-feed him something just so his stomach is busy, as it’s designed to be.  My ideal situation would be to give him about 1 cup of senior feed and 1 cup of soaked grass hay pellets every hour or so.  Not real feasible.  

Then we have some horses who get supplements.  During our riding season, they benefit from a little extra:

  • Suzie — gets dried raspberry leaves, alfalfa pellets or complete feed, and occasionally some bute (equine equivalent of tylenol).  With her we are treating her discomfort from her heat cycles, mainly, and making sure she has a little more energy for the riding season.
  • Dash — gets fenugreek for edema, and dried nettles for his cough.  Also gets some alfalfa pellets for weight and bute as needed for swelling.  Dash also gets a joint supplement.  Dash has a cough that he’s had forever that we try to soothe, and he has swelling in one hind leg.  
  • Jersey — gets dried raspberry leaves mixed with some complete feed just to encourage her to eat the raspberry leaves.  She has a lot of discomfort around her heat cycles.
  • Sis — gets a GOB of complete or senior feed and joint supplement.  She is a hard horse to put and keep weight on.  
  • Nigel — just gets some extra complete or senior feed to get a little padding on him.  

That extra supplementation can cost from $200 to $400 a month, depending.  

Some of the horses are on what’s called a “track system” — so their main living area is a narrow track with feeding and watering stations along it.  We feed them well away from their water in order to encourage movement.  In the middle of the tracks are some grass “pastures” which are big enough to graze them from time to time for some nutritional variety.  It’s not enough grass to support the herd for any length of time.  

We started the track system as an experiment and only used it on one herd.  We love it, so we’ll be putting the rest of them on another track here soon.

Water is of huge importance, so their troughs are always full, thanks to automatic waterers.  We also have watering buckets in their holding pens so they always have water available between rides as well.  

In the winter time, if we don’t have to haul any water, chores don’t take long at all.  We only have to put bales out twice a week, and Yukon is easy to feed.  So, maybe 15 minutes a day, and a half hour on “big feed” days where we put the big bales out.  

In the summer when we’re supplementing more horses, it might take 1/2 hour or so a day.  

Posted in Life on the Ranch, The Business | Comments Off on Feedin’ Time

Yukon’s Birthday

Posted on March 20, 2018 by Teresa

This year we are celebrating what may be Yukon’s 35th birthday.  We think.  

We aren’t sure how old he is, but we know he doesn’t have a whole lot of teeth left and the last time we took him to the vet, the vet said Yukon was close to 30.  

He still works a little in our string, the walking does him good and he seems to enjoy socializing with people.  He has a penchant for the younger riders and he’s extra careful with them.  

Nevada and Yukon, helping some kids out.

You haven’t had your heart melted into a blob of goo until you’ve seen Yukon introduce himself to a baby or toddler.  He gently sniffs and nuzzles, with his ears forward and his eyes as soft as a doe’s.  He’s a kind soul.  

If I were going to clone a horse, it’d be Yukon.  Don’t tell Wrigley and Axel I said that.  

Yukon heading home.

Since we won’t be cloning him, help us celebrate him and wish him a happy-maybe-birthday on Thursday, May 3rd at 3 p.m.  

He’ll enjoy a carrot cake and we’ll have some cake and ice cream to share.  

Yukon leading the pack.

Yukon will be thrilled just to visit with you.  If you’d like to bring him treats, please make sure it’s no solids (things like grated carrots and apples or softened pellets are okay).  

Posted in The Horses | Comments Off on Yukon’s Birthday

Red Mountain Round Up 3/15/2018

Posted on March 15, 2018 by admin

Red Mountain Roundup is a roundup of all of the things to do, places to stay, and other information to help you plan your visit to Red Mountain.

Looking for some trip-planning ideas?  Check out these itinerary suggestions!

Yay for summer!
Gorgeous views!
Jersey gets a little gravel in her travel.
Beautiful sunsets!
Moody skies.
Feed me!

A repeat of last week.  This spring weather is so wonderful!
 http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/l/99320:4:US

Events, Places to Visit This Weekend:

I believe all tasting rooms charge a $10.00 tasting fee.  Some are refundable with purchase, some are partially refundable.  

  • Red Mountain Trails — Wagon Rides, Trail Rides, and guided Bike Tours available.  Click here to reserve! 
  • Chandler Reach — open Weds through Monday, 11:00 am – 5:00 pm.
  • Col Solare – tasting room open 11 am – 5 pm Weds – Sun. 
  • Cooper – tasting room open noon – 5 pm DAILY.  Tasting fee $10.00  
  • Fidelitas – tasting room open 11 am – 4 pm daily.  Tasting fee $10.00, refundable with wine purchase.  
  • Frichette – tasting room open daily noon – 5 pm. 
  • Hamilton Cellars – tasting room open Sun – Thurs 11 am – 5 pm, Fri & Sat 11 am – 6 pm
  • Hedges – Appointment only.
  • Hightower – Tasting room open 11 am – 5 pm Thurs – Mon.
  • Kiona –  tasting room open noon – 5 pm daily.  
  • Linda Ellis Andrews — Artist in Glass and Bronze.  Linda is a fabulous artist and wonderful person!  Make an appointment to visit her studio, you won’t be disappointed!
  • Monte Scarlatto — tasting room open 11 am – 5 pm Thurs and Sun.  11 am – 6 pm Fri and Sat.  By appointment also.  They have a 9-hole golf course among the vines, check it out!
  • Portrait Cellars — tasting by appointment only.  509-588-4534
  • Purple Star Wines — Wednesday – Sunday 11:00 am – 5:00 pm.
    Every Other Saturday, 10:00 am — Stretch & Sip.  
  • Tapteil – Fri – Sun 11:00 am – 5:00 pm.  509-588-4460  
  • Terra Blanca –  tasting room open daily 11 am – 6 pm.  
    Vineyard Grille open noon – 5:00 pm Friday through Sunday. 
  • Tucannon – tasting room open Fri – Sun 11 am – 6 pm, Wed – Thurs 11 am – 5 pm.  $5.00 tasting fee.  
  • Tri-Cities Events
  • Red Mountain AVA Site (info, places to stay, calendar of more events)

Places to Stay:

  • Vacation Rentals by Owner — Red Mountain has some really nice vacation rentals available for your visit.  Most of these are right on Red Mountain and visitors get a discount on their trail or wagon ride when they stay.  
  • Bella Luna House — gorgeous vacation rental offered by Tapteil winery.
  • Camping and RV — 
    • Beach RV Park – situated in Benton City — lots of pretty trees, gorgeous setting along the Yakima River waterfront, 5 minutes to Red Mountain.  If you stay here we can deliver your bike rental to you!
    • RV Village Resort – West Richland.  Easy access to Red Mountain and Richland for restaurants, shopping, and wine-tasting.  Indoor pool and spa.
    • Wine Country RV — Prosser.  Great location and amazing staff.  Really nice place!
    • Monte Scarlatto — Red Mountain.  Enjoy staying in the heart of Red Mountain!
  • The nearest hotels are located in Richland and Prosser.

Places to Eat

There are a number of chain restaurants around but here are some “off the beaten path” recommendations:

    • Red Mountain Trails  — we offer dinner on Friday and Saturday nights starting in April.  Reservations can be made here.  
    • Tacos Garcia Taco Truck — West Richland.  The best taco truck around, and I love their ceviche.
    • The Vineyard Grill at Terra Blanca — Red Mountain.  One of the only places on the hill to eat.  Beautiful views and great food and wine!
    • Hacienda del Sol — Benton City.  Large portions of great Mexican food and excellent customer service!
Posted in Round Up | Comments Off on Red Mountain Round Up 3/15/2018

Do What You Love, Even a Little…

Posted on March 10, 2018 by Teresa

As one who suffers from “perfectionism”, I frequently put off doing things I love because I don’t have enough time.  Translation: my ideal is to do “the thing” without interruption.  So, if I only have 15 minutes to do “the thing” then I might as well not bother.  

Am I the only one like that?  (please say no…)

It kind of goes hand in hand with “if I can’t do it whole-hog, I might as well not do it.”  It’s like punishing ourselves for being responsible and completely cutting ourselves off from the things we enjoy because at the end of our long list of adult tasks, we only have a few minutes for what we love.

And it’s not always feasible to change that — to reject our responsibilities in favor of some indulgence.  

But it also isn’t right.

As part of the Challenge, my struggle has been to find the time for the horse I want to learn from.  I end up riding where my responsibilities dictate — Wrigley because I’m guiding tours or Axel because DAMMIT AXEL!!!  Or Jersey because she needs to get her head on straight for the season, or DAMMIT AXEL!  I’m going to change his name to DAMMIT AXEL!  

The Challenge has been good for getting my priorities back on straight — for helping me prioritize.  We’re supposed to ride 30 rides, for a total of 40 hours, in 3 months.  If I’d chosen Wrigley or Dammit Axel for the Challenge I’d have been done in January, but my skill set would remain pretty stagnant.

So, it’s interesting.  When I had a “desk job”, riding wasn’t always a priority for me and I was bummed at how little I rode.  Then when this became more and more a “viable business” and I was riding more, I find myself bummed at how little I dedicate to the type of riding I love.  

And that’s always followed up with a bunch of self-doubt — is it because I’m too lazy?  Bad at scheduling?  Unproductive?

Meanwhile, I know that if I just spend a little time, on a regular basis, I can experience huge growth — which is what I want when doing the things I love.  In fact, I think I get more done in 15 minutes for 5 days in a row than one day for an hour and 15 minutes.  

Huh.  

Anyway, this is a lot of rambling to just say that it truly is a challenge to do what we love, and the way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.  

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Lessons Available!

Posted on March 9, 2018 by admin

We are excited to announce that we now offer riding lessons!  We have partnered with Kathy Fessler of Whispering Breeze Horsemanship and Dressage to provide top-level riding instruction.

Kathy is a multi-disciplinary instructor who has competed at the National levels in Canada and the U.S.  Kathy has ridden, instructed, and trained in the disciplines of Dressage, Driving, Trail Riding, Western Pleasure, and Equitation.  

All tack and horses are supplied, and instruction is on a one-on-one basis.  These lessons are for the serious student or the greenest beginner.  Kathy’s patience and vast background assure a thorough educational experience for her students.  Our horses are kind, gentle, and ready to help you reach your horsemanship goals.

If you would like to observe a lesson before signing up, please contact us at 1-888-414-1619.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Lessons Available!

Red Mountain Round Up, 3/08/2018

Posted on March 8, 2018 by Teresa

Red Mountain Roundup is a roundup of all of the things to do, places to stay, and other information to help you plan your visit to Red Mountain.

Feed me!
Gorgeous views!
Beautiful sunsets!
Moody skies.
Jersey gets a little gravel in her travel.
Yay for summer!

Is it sunscreen season already?!
 http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/l/99320:4:US

Events, Places to Visit This Weekend:

I believe all tasting rooms charge a $10.00 tasting fee.  Some are refundable with purchase, some are partially refundable.  

  • Red Mountain Trails — Wagon Rides, Trail Rides, and guided Bike Tours available.  Click here to reserve! 
  • Chandler Reach — open Weds through Monday, 11:00 am – 5:00 pm.
  • Col Solare – tasting room open 11 am – 5 pm Weds – Sun. 
  • Cooper – tasting room open noon – 5 pm DAILY.  Tasting fee $10.00  
  • Fidelitas – tasting room open 11 am – 4 pm daily.  Tasting fee $10.00, refundable with wine purchase.  
  • Frichette – tasting room open daily noon – 5 pm. 
  • Hamilton Cellars – tasting room open Sun – Thurs 11 am – 5 pm, Fri & Sat 11 am – 6 pm
    Weds, 3/14 — Bunco Night.
  • Hedges – Appointment only.
  • Hightower – Tasting room open 11 am – 5 pm Thurs – Mon.
  • Kiona –  tasting room open noon – 5 pm daily.  
  • Linda Ellis Andrews — Artist in Glass and Bronze.  Linda is a fabulous artist and wonderful person!  Make an appointment to visit her studio, you won’t be disappointed!
  • Monte Scarlatto — tasting room open 11 am – 5 pm Thurs and Sun.  11 am – 6 pm Fri and Sat.  By appointment also.  They have a 9-hole golf course among the vines, check it out!
  • Portrait Cellars — tasting by appointment only.  509-588-4534
  • Purple Star Wines — Wednesday – Sunday 11:00 am – 5:00 pm.
    Every Other Saturday, 10:00 am — Stretch & Sip.  
  • Tapteil – Fri – Sun 11:00 am – 5:00 pm.  509-588-4460  
  • Terra Blanca –  tasting room open daily 11 am – 6 pm.  
    Vineyard Grille open noon – 5:00 pm Friday through Sunday. 
    Sat 3/10 — Red Mountain Vertical Tasting
    Sun 3/11 — Paint Nite.
  • Tucannon – tasting room open Fri – Sun 11 am – 6 pm, Wed – Thurs 11 am – 5 pm.  $5.00 tasting fee.  
  • Tri-Cities Events
  • Red Mountain AVA Site (info, places to stay, calendar of more events)

Places to Stay:

  • Vacation Rentals by Owner — Red Mountain has some really nice vacation rentals available for your visit.  Most of these are right on Red Mountain and visitors get a discount on their trail or wagon ride when they stay.  
  • Bella Luna House — gorgeous vacation rental offered by Tapteil winery.
  • Camping and RV — 
    • Beach RV Park – situated in Benton City — lots of pretty trees, gorgeous setting along the Yakima River waterfront, 5 minutes to Red Mountain.  If you stay here we can deliver your bike rental to you!
    • RV Village Resort – West Richland.  Easy access to Red Mountain and Richland for restaurants, shopping, and wine-tasting.  Indoor pool and spa.
    • Wine Country RV — Prosser.  Great location and amazing staff.  Really nice place!
    • Monte Scarlatto — Red Mountain.  Enjoy staying in the heart of Red Mountain!
  • The nearest hotels are located in Richland and Prosser.

Places to Eat

There are a number of chain restaurants around but here are some “off the beaten path” recommendations:

    • Red Mountain Trails  — we offer dinner on Friday and Saturday nights starting in April.  Reservations can be made here.  
    • Tacos Garcia Taco Truck — West Richland.  The best taco truck around, and I love their ceviche.
    • The Vineyard Grill at Terra Blanca — Red Mountain.  One of the only places on the hill to eat.  Beautiful views and great food and wine!
    • Hacienda del Sol — Benton City.  Large portions of great Mexican food and excellent customer service!
Posted in Round Up | Comments Off on Red Mountain Round Up, 3/08/2018

Red Mountain Round Up, 3/1/2018

Posted on March 1, 2018 by admin

Red Mountain Roundup is a roundup of all of the things to do, places to stay, and other information to help you plan your visit to Red Mountain.

Red Wine & Chocolate at Tucannon!
Luanne and Teresa at Frichette
Jeff and Kep at Frichette
Jeff and Luanne at Hightower
Shawna and Maya make a great silhouette in the sunset.
Any image photo-bombed by horse ears is a great image.
Gorgeous hawk let us get really close.

Helloooooooooo Spring!  While it seems like our March started early with some windy days, we’re looking at nice weather this weekend!
 http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/l/99320:4:US

Events, Places to Visit This Weekend:

I believe all tasting rooms charge a $10.00 tasting fee.  Some are refundable with purchase, some are partially refundable.  

  • Red Mountain Trails — Wagon Rides, Trail Rides, and guided Bike Tours available.  Click here to reserve! 
  • Chandler Reach — open Weds through Monday, 11:00 am – 5:00 pm.
  • Col Solare – tasting room open 11 am – 5 pm Weds – Sun. 
  • Cooper – tasting room open noon – 5 pm DAILY.  Tasting fee $10.00  
  • Fidelitas – tasting room open 11 am – 4 pm daily.  Tasting fee $10.00, refundable with wine purchase.  
  • Frichette – tasting room open daily noon – 5 pm. 
  • Hamilton Cellars – tasting room open Sun – Thurs 11 am – 5 pm, Fri & Sat 11 am – 6 pm
  • Hedges – open on weekends, 11 – 5, or by appointment.
  • Hightower – Tasting room open 11 am – 5 pm Thurs – Mon.
  • Kiona –  tasting room open noon – 5 pm daily.  
  • Linda Ellis Andrews — Artist in Glass and Bronze.  Linda is a fabulous artist and wonderful person!  Make an appointment to visit her studio, you won’t be disappointed!
  • Monte Scarlatto — tasting room open 11 am – 5 pm Thurs and Sun.  11 am – 6 pm Fri and Sat.  By appointment also.  They have a 9-hole golf course among the vines, check it out!
  • Portrait Cellars — tasting by appointment only.  509-588-4534
  • Purple Star Wines — Wednesday – Sunday 11:00 am – 5:00 pm.
    Every Other Saturday, 10:00 am — Stretch & Sip.  
  • Tapteil – Fri – Sun 11:00 am – 5:00 pm.  509-588-4460  
  • Terra Blanca –  tasting room open daily 11 am – 6 pm.  
    Vineyard Grille open noon – 5:00 pm Friday through Sunday. 
    Tucannon – tasting room open Fri – Sun 11 am – 6 pm, Wed – Thurs 11 am – 5 pm.  $5.00 tasting fee.  
  • Tri-Cities Events
  • Red Mountain AVA Site (info, places to stay, calendar of more events)

Places to Stay:

  • Vacation Rentals by Owner — Red Mountain has some really nice vacation rentals available for your visit.  Most of these are right on Red Mountain and visitors get a discount on their trail or wagon ride when they stay.  
  • Bella Luna House — gorgeous vacation rental offered by Tapteil winery.
  • Camping and RV — 
    • Beach RV Park – situated in Benton City — lots of pretty trees, gorgeous setting along the Yakima River waterfront, 5 minutes to Red Mountain.  If you stay here we can deliver your bike rental to you!
    • RV Village Resort – West Richland.  Easy access to Red Mountain and Richland for restaurants, shopping, and wine-tasting.  Indoor pool and spa.
    • Wine Country RV — Prosser.  Great location and amazing staff.  Really nice place!
    • Monte Scarlatto — Red Mountain.  Enjoy staying in the heart of Red Mountain!
  • The nearest hotels are located in Richland and Prosser.

Places to Eat

There are a number of chain restaurants around but here are some “off the beaten path” recommendations:

    • Red Mountain Trails  — we offer dinner on Friday and Saturday nights starting in May.  Reservations can be made here.  
    • Tacos Garcia Taco Truck — West Richland.  The best taco truck around, and I love their ceviche.
    • The Vineyard Grill at Terra Blanca — Red Mountain.  One of the only places on the hill to eat.  Beautiful views and great food and wine!
    • Hacienda del Sol — Benton City.  Large portions of great Mexican food and excellent customer service!
Posted in Round Up | Comments Off on Red Mountain Round Up, 3/1/2018

In the Media – PBS

Posted on February 25, 2018 by admin

PBS came out and filmed a segment on us.  What a great crew and fun time!  

“Teresa took friends and family for rides all the time around her property. As more vineyards popped up rides became an enjoyable way to spend the afternoon. Then Jeff told her, “You need more horses!” I’m sure Teresa has more details about the growth of Red Mountain Trails, but I like how Jeff did the best thing for any marriage: let the spouse have more what she loves.”

Posted in In the Media | Comments Off on In the Media – PBS

It’s Not Personal, but the Answer is No

Posted on February 22, 2018 by Teresa

Ugh!

From time to time folks will ask us if they can bring their horses out and ride.  We appreciate people asking, but once in awhile they’ll get an attitude about it and my normally happy-go-lucky nature turns dark and resentful.  I hate to say no, but “no” should be sufficient, we don’t have to explain NOT allowing folks to bring their horses out on our property or during our rides.  

But, heck.  Let’s talk about it. 

Insurance

People use “insurance” as a canned response to say “no” to folks.  In our case, it’s true that insurance is a major factor in our decision.  The first question from our insurance company when we add an activity is, “Do you own the horses?”  Followed by, “are horses that you don’t own allowed on your tours?”  

We could get a different insurance policy, but I’m quite on board with the notion of hedging the bets in our favor.  We go with horses we know, to places we know are safe, with staff who are certified in CPR and First Aid.  We have as many controls in place as we possibly can in order to ensure a safe and fun tour for our guests and ourselves. 

Herd Health and Dynamics

It’s hard to prove a horse has been vaccinated, unlike with humans.  When we introduce a new horse to the herd we quarantine them, vaccinate them, and slowly integrate them into the herd.  It’s a process, one that is unlikely to occur with horses and owners who we don’t know.  

In the past 3 months there has been an outbreak of a deadly equine virus in Washington state, killing more than a half-dozen horses.  Those outbreaks are hard to predict (even occurring in vaccinated horses), and have a terrible outcome.  We try to keep tight controls on the horses we introduce to our herd.

And herd dynamics.  Oh my gosh.  Herd hierarchy is complex and hugely important to the herd.  Our herd has it sorted out (though they do frequently still challenge each other).  But, introduce a new horse to the herd and all of the mares go into heat, something I’d prefer our guests not have to contend with when they really just want a relaxing tour.  

We Can’t Give Permission to What Isn’t Ours

The property where we ride is all privately owned.  We have permission to go certain places and not others.  Vineyard managers call us and let us know where there are activities like trenching or trellis wires being strung or spraying or anything else that is potentially hazardous to us (or where they don’t want us to be underfoot).  

We encourage anyone interested in riding out here on their own horses to contact the property owners directly.  They’ll let you know if it’s okay, and where you can and can’t ride and when.  We can’t.

Riding through Ciel du Cheval

Seriously, You Don’t Want to Ride With Us

If you’re a horse-owner looking for a place to ride, you probably won’t like riding with us.  We walk.  We have specific horses we take out together, for specific reasons.  If you’re on your own horse you’ll want to gallop, or trot, or intermingle in the string.  You won’t like it when we tell you not to do any of those things.  You could gallop off and one of our horses takes off to follow, against the wishes and comfort level of our guests.  

But Not MY Horse!

You might be absolutely right, your horse is a complete gem.  It’s not a judgement against you or your horse that we don’t allow others to join us or ride out here, not at all.  It doesn’t mean we don’t want you to enjoy your horse or the beauty of the Tri-Cities, some of the best riding there is.  

Posted in Happy Trails, Life on the Ranch, The Business | Comments Off on It’s Not Personal, but the Answer is No